Methods and systems for on-demand transmission of a positioning reference signal in a wireless network

ABSTRACT

An entity in a wireless network is configured to increase transmission of a positioning reference signal (PRS) at each of a plurality of transmitters, where the increase in transmission of PRS at each of the plurality of transmitters is coordinated to avoid interference to or from non-PRS transmission in the wireless network. The increase in the transmission of PRS may be performed by a server, such as a location management function (LMF) or location management component (LMC), a base station, such as a gNB, ng-eNB, or eNB, or by a combination of the server and base station. The entity may determine the increase in transmission of the PRS in response to location requests for a plurality of user equipments (UEs), notification reports from a plurality of base stations, or requests for increased PRS from a plurality of UEs.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos.62/753,900, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ON-DEMAND TRANSMISSION OFA POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL IN A WIRELESS NETWORK,” filed Oct. 31,2018, and 62/754,569, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ON-DEMANDTRANSMISSION OF A POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL IN A WIRELESS NETWORK,”filed Nov. 1, 2018, and 62/805,945, entitled “ARCHITECTURE FOR SUPPORTOF HIGH-PERFORMANCE LOCATION SERVICES IN A NEXT GENERATION RADIO ACCESSNETWORK,” filed Feb. 14, 2019, which are assigned to the assigneethereof and which are expressly incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

BACKGROUND

Obtaining the location of a mobile device that is accessing a wirelessnetwork may be useful for many applications including, for example,emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating a friendor family member, etc. However, location of a mobile device can requireusage of resources by a network for transmitting a downlink positioningreference signal (PRS) from network base stations and/or othertransmission points that can be measured by a mobile device to obtainlocation measurements. When no mobile devices need to obtain locationmeasurements of a PRS, the transmission of these signals by the wirelessnetwork may waste power and/or may waste signaling resources which couldbe better used for other purposes such as sending and receiving voiceand data. It may therefore be advantageous to use methods that enablePRS transmission to be responsive to whether or not PRS measurement bymobile devices is needed.

SUMMARY

Techniques described herein are directed to increasing a transmission ofa positioning reference signal (PRS) at each of a plurality oftransmitters, wherein the increase in transmission of PRS at each of theplurality of transmitters is coordinated to avoid interference to orfrom non-PRS transmission in the wireless network. The increase in thetransmission of PRS may be performed by a server, such as a locationmanagement function (LMF), a base station, such as a gNB, ng-eNB, oreNB, or by a combination of the server and base station. The increase intransmission of the PRS may be in response to location requests for aplurality of user equipments (UEs), notification reports from aplurality of base stations, or requests for increased PRS from aplurality of UEs.

In one aspect, a method for supporting location of a user equipment (UE)at a first entity in a wireless network includes determining an increasein transmission of a positioning reference signal (PRS) at each of aplurality of transmitters, wherein the increase in transmission of PRSat each of the plurality of transmitters is coordinated to avoidinterference to or from non-PRS transmission in the wireless network;sending a first message to the each transmitter, the first messagecomprising an indication of the increase in transmission of PRS for theeach transmitter; and receiving a response from the each transmitter,the response confirming or rejecting the increase in transmission of PRSat the each transmitter.

In one aspect, an entity in a wireless network configured for supportinglocation of a user equipment (UE) includes an external interfaceconfigured to receive and send messages to other entities in thewireless network; at least one memory; and at least one processorcoupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, the atleast one processor configured to: determine an increase in transmissionof a positioning reference signal (PRS) at each of a plurality oftransmitters, wherein the increase in transmission of PRS at each of theplurality of transmitters is coordinated to avoid interference to orfrom non-PRS transmission in the wireless network; send, via theexternal interface, a first message to the each transmitter, the firstmessage comprising an indication of the increase in transmission of PRSfor the each transmitter; and receive, via the external interface, aresponse from the each transmitter, the response confirming or rejectingthe increase in transmission of PRS at the each transmitter.

In one aspect, an entity in a wireless network configured for supportinglocation of a user equipment (UE) includes means for determining anincrease in transmission of a positioning reference signal (PRS) at eachof a plurality of transmitters, wherein the increase in transmission ofPRS at each of the plurality of transmitters is coordinated to avoidinterference to or from non-PRS transmission in the wireless network;means for sending a first message to the each transmitter, the firstmessage comprising an indication of the increase in transmission of PRSfor the each transmitter; and means for receiving a response from theeach transmitter, the response confirming or rejecting the increase intransmission of PRS at the each transmitter.

In one aspect, a non-transitory computer readable medium includingprogram code stored thereon, the program code is operable to configureat least one processor in a first entity in a wireless network forsupporting location of a user equipment (UE), includes program code todetermine an increase in transmission of a positioning reference signal(PRS) at each of a plurality of transmitters, wherein the increase intransmission of PRS at each of the plurality of transmitters iscoordinated to avoid interference to or from non-PRS transmission in thewireless network; program code to send a first message to the eachtransmitter, the first message comprising an indication of the increasein transmission of PRS for the each transmitter; and program code toreceive a response from the each transmitter, the response confirming orrejecting the increase in transmission of PRS at the each transmitter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a diagram of an example communication system that may utilizea 5G network to determine a position for a mobile device, according toan embodiment.

FIG. 1B is a diagram of an example positioning architecture of acommunication system to determine a position for a mobile device,according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a signaling flow showing messages sent between components of acommunication network with a Location Management Function (LMF) controlof PRS transmissions.

FIG. 3 is a signaling flow showing messages sent between components of acommunication network with a gNB control of PRS transmissions.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a zoning technique using muting to preventinterference during increased PRS transmission in a wireless network.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of combining zones in the zoning technique of FIG.4.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a zoning technique in which transmission by gNBsat the periphery of an area is directed within the area to preventinterference during increased PRS transmission in a wireless network.

FIG. 7 is a signaling flow showing messages sent between components of acommunication network with a combined LMF and gNB control of PRStransmissions.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a structure of an example LTE subframe sequencewith PRS positioning occasions.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating further aspects of PRS transmission fora cell supported by a wireless node.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an example procedure to control PRStransmissions.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a base station capable ofcontrolling PRS transmissions.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a server capable ofcontrolling PRS transmissions.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a user equipment (UE)capable of receiving controlled PRS transmissions.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements,in accordance with certain example implementations. In addition,multiple instances of an element may be indicated by following a firstnumber for the element with a letter or a hyphen and a second number.For example, multiple instances of an element 110 may be indicated as110-1, 110-2, 110-3 etc. When referring to such an element using onlythe first number, any instance of the element is to be understood (e.g.element 110 in the previous example would refer to elements 110-1, 110-2and 110-3).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Obtaining the location of a mobile device that is accessing a wirelessnetwork may be useful for many applications including, for example,emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating a friendor family member, etc. However, location of a mobile device can requireusage of resources by a network for transmitting a downlink positioningreference signal (PRS) from network base stations and/or othertransmission points (TPs) that can be measured by a mobile device toobtain location measurements. When no mobile devices need to obtainlocation measurements of PRSs, the transmission of these signals by thewireless network may waste power and/or may waste signaling resourceswhich could be better used for other purposes such as sending andreceiving voice and data. It may therefore be advantageous to usemethods that enable PRS transmission to be responsive to whether or notPRS measurement by mobile devices is needed and to reduce or stoptransmission of PRS when location measurements by mobile devices are notneeded.

As an example of resource usage for PRS in a wireless network, basestations in the wireless network may transmit a PRS continuously in eachcell to support, for example, observed time difference of arrival(OTDOA) location determination (e.g., for LTE or 5G access) which mayconsume significant operator bandwidth. For example, if only used forlocation of emergency calls, the PRS of any cell may only be measuredfor a small proportion of transmission time (e.g. 1% or less) ifemergency calls occur infrequently within or nearby to any cell. Evenwhen used for other applications (e.g., location of “Internet of Things”(IoT) devices), PRS transmission may not be needed for location for asignificant proportion of time. However, reducing the amount of PRStransmission (e.g. the bandwidth or periodicity of PRS) to conservenetwork resources may result in reduced location accuracy and/or higherlatency when location of a mobile device is needed.

To support 5G New Radio (NR), System Information (SI) messages, carryingnetwork related information needed for normal operation or locationsupport for UEs, can be broadcast periodically as indicated byscheduling information in an SI Block 1 (SIB1) or some other SIB, or canbe indicated in SIB1 (or in another SIB) as currently not beingbroadcast. In the latter case, a user equipment (UE) can request thebroadcast of one or more SI messages (or one or more SIBs) using arandom access procedure or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) Common ControlChannel (CCCH) request when not in a connected state (e.g. when in anidle state). A similar capability could be useful for broadcast ortransmission of a DL Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) for 5G NR (e.g.to support position methods such as OTDOA, Enhanced Cell ID (ECID),angle of arrival (AOA) or angle of departure (AOD). The capability couldallow a UE or another entity which is aware of UE positioningrequirements (e.g. a Location Management Function (LMF)) to request anincrease in resources assigned for Downlink (DL) PRS transmission (e.g.increased bandwidth, increased duration of positioning occasions and/orincreased frequency of positioning occasions) and possibly to indicatewhen increased DL PRS transmission is no longer needed. The benefits ofthis can include reduced network bandwidth usage for DL PRS when no UEsneed to acquire and measure PRS in a particular cell or group of cellsand improved positioning accuracy and/or latency when one or more UEs doneed to acquire and measure PRS to obtain location measurements.

Increased DL PRS transmission could be simplified by restricting PRStransmission by a base station (e.g. gNB) or in a cell to only certainPRS configurations, which might be configured in a gNB and/or in an LMFusing Operations and Maintenance (O&M). For example, there might be aset of PRS configuration parameters (e.g. defining a bandwidth, RFfrequency, periodicity and duration of a PRS) used for “normal” PRStransmission in the absence of any request for increased PRStransmission. In some networks, the “normal” PRS transmission mightequate to no PRS transmission at all (to minimize resource usage). Therecould then be one or more levels of increased PRS transmission, eachdefined by a different set of PRS configuration parameters such asparameters defining increased PRS bandwidth, a greater range of PRSfrequencies, longer duration of PRS positioning occasions and/or shorterperiodicity of PRS positioning occasions. The association of increasedPRS transmission with only certain sets of predefined PRS configurationparameters could simplify the control and transmission of increased PRS.For example, in the simplest case, PRS transmission might just be turnedon when needed, according to a single default set of PRS configurationparameters, and turned off when not needed.

Described herein are systems, devices, methods, media and otherimplementations for on-demand PRS resource allocation for 4G, 5G, and/orother types of communication technologies. These enable LMF control, gNBcontrol and combined gNB-LMF control (also referred to as enhanced LMFcontrol) of DL PRS transmission. The on-demand PRS transmission maypermit resources to be allocated for PRS transmission only, or mainly,when a UE needs to be located using PRS transmission and not at othertimes when no UE needs to be located using PRS transmission. Forexample, in order to avoid wastage of operator bandwidth when PRS-basedlocation is not needed, and to enable more PRS resources to becomeavailable when PRS-based location of a UE is needed, on-demandtransmission (also referred to as scheduling) of PRS may be supported.With on-demand PRS transmission, UEs or other elements in a network mayindicate to a controlling entity (e.g. a gNB or LMF) when downlink (DL)PRS transmission is needed for location determination. The controllingentity can then coordinate an increase in resource allocation for DL PRStransmission by increasing the overall duration during which DL PRS istransmitted (e.g. by increasing the number of subframes in each PRSpositioning occasion and/or increasing the frequency of PRS positioningoccasions) and/or by increasing the proportion of overall carrierbandwidth assigned to each (or all) DL PRS transmission. Whileincreasing PRS transmission duration may disturb other traffic in somescenarios (e.g. by interfering with other pre-allocated downlinkchannels like SIBs), increasing PRS bandwidth may interfere less and mayimprove both measurement accuracy and acquisition of distant basestations. A network, or certain base stations in a network, may alsoincrease the resource allocation for PRS transmission by temporarilyreallocating frequency, normally reserved for uplink transmission fromUEs, for downlink transmission of PRS during certain specific periods(e.g. during certain subframes). For example, this may be possible usinga flexible duplexing capability for 5G New Radio (NR).

It is noted that references to PRS and PRS transmission herein refer toDL PRS or DL PRS transmission, respectively, unless otherwise qualified.However, the techniques described herein to support on demandtransmission of DL PRS may be applicable, in part, to transmission ofPRS on a sidelink (e.g. UE to UE) or in an uplink (e.g. UE to gNB).

While transmission of a PRS to support location of mobile devices isdescribed herein, transmission of other types of signal such as aCell-specific Reference Signal (CRS) or Tracking Reference Signal (TRS)may be used instead for some wireless technologies (e.g. such as 5G NR).Consequently, methods exemplified herein to support increased resourceallocation for PRS transmission may be equally applicable totransmission of other signals used for positioning such as a CRS or TRS.It is noted that the term PRS “transmission” as used here can includePRS broadcast to all UEs able to receive the PRS, PRS multicast toselected UEs (e.g. UEs with a subscription to receive PRS where the PRSmay use a coding scheme known only to the subscribed UEs) and PRSunicast to just one UE.

FIG. 1A shows a diagram of a communication system 100, according to anembodiment. The communication system 100 may be configured to implementon-demand resource allocation for PRS transmission as described herein.Here, the communication system 100 comprises a UE 105, and components ofa Fifth Generation (5G) network comprising a Next Generation (NG) RadioAccess Network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 135 and a 5G Core Network (5GC) 140. A 5Gnetwork may also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) network; NG-RAN 135may be referred to as a 5G RAN or as an NR RAN; and 5GC 140 may bereferred to as an NG Core network (NGC). The communication system 100may further utilize information from satellite vehicles (SVs) 190 for aGlobal Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) like GPS, GLONASS, Galileo orBeidou or some other local or regional Satellite Positioning System(SPS) such as IRNSS, EGNOS or WAAS. Additional components of thecommunication system 100 are described below. The communication system100 may include additional or alternative components.

It should be noted that FIG. 1A provides only a generalized illustrationof various components, any or all of which may be utilized asappropriate, and each of which may be duplicated or omitted asnecessary. Specifically, although only one UE 105 is illustrated, itwill be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions,etc.) may utilize the communication system 100. Similarly, thecommunication system 100 may include a larger (or smaller) number of SVs190, gNBs 110, ng-eNBs 114, AMFs 115, external clients 130, and/or othercomponents. The illustrated connections that connect the variouscomponents in the communication system 100 include data and signalingconnections which may include additional (intermediary) components,direct or indirect physical and/or wireless connections, and/oradditional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged,combined, separated, substituted, and/or omitted, depending on desiredfunctionality.

While FIG. 1A illustrates a 5G-based network, similar networkimplementations and configurations may be used for other communicationtechnologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc.Implementations described herein (be they for 5G technology or for othercommunication technologies and protocols) may be used to configure, inresponse to receiving a request, an increased quantity oflocation-related information or resources associated with broadcastcommunication from wireless nodes, e.g., transmission of PRS signals orsome other location related function of the wireless nodes.

The UE 105 may comprise and/or be referred to as a device, a mobiledevice, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobilestation (MS), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Enabled Terminal(SET), or by some other name. Moreover, UE 105 may correspond to acellphone, smartphone, laptop, tablet, PDA, tracking device, navigationdevice, Internet of Things (IoT) device, or some other portable ormoveable device. Typically, though not necessarily, the UE 105 maysupport wireless communication using one or more Radio AccessTechnologies (RATs) such as using Global System for Mobile communication(GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE,High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to asWi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using the NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140),etc. The UE 105 may also support wireless communication using a WirelessLocal Area Network (WLAN) which may connect to other networks (e.g. theInternet) using a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or packet cable forexample. The use of one or more of these RATs may allow the UE 105 tocommunicate with an external client 130 (via elements of 5GC 140 notshown in FIG. 1A, or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center(GMLC) 125) and/or allow the external client 130 to receive locationinformation regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC 125).

The UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entitiessuch as in a personal area network where a user may employ audio, videoand/or data I/O devices and/or body sensors and a separate wireline orwireless modem. An estimate of a location of the UE 105 may be referredto as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position,position estimate or position fix, and may be geographic, thus providinglocation coordinates for the UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude) whichmay or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sealevel, height above or depth below ground level, floor level or basementlevel). Alternatively, a location of the UE 105 may be expressed as acivic location (e.g., as a postal address or the designation of somepoint or small area in a building such as a particular room or floor). Alocation of the UE 105 may also be expressed as an area or volume(defined either geographically or in civic form) within which the UE 105is expected to be located with some probability or confidence level(e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.) A location of the UE 105 may further be arelative location comprising, for example, a distance and direction orrelative X, Y (and Z) coordinates defined relative to some origin at aknown location which may be defined geographically, in civic terms, orby reference to a point, area, or volume indicated on a map, floor planor building plan. In the description contained herein, the use of theterm location may comprise any of these variants unless indicatedotherwise. When computing the location of a UE, it is common to solvefor local x, y, and possibly z coordinates and then, if needed, convertthe local coordinates into absolute ones (e.g. for latitude, longitudeand altitude above or below mean sea level).

Base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1A comprise NRNodeBs, also referred to as gNBs, 110-1, 110-2 and 110-3 (collectivelyand generically referred to herein as gNBs 110). Pairs of gNBs 110 inNG-RAN 135 may be connected to one another—e.g. directly as shown inFIG. 1A or indirectly via other gNBs 110. Access to the 5G network isprovided to UE 105 via wireless communication between the UE 105 and oneor more of the gNBs 110, which may provide wireless communicationsaccess to the 5GC 140 on behalf of the UE 105 using 5G NR as defined bythe Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 5G NR radio access mayalso be referred to as NR radio access or as 5G radio access. In FIG.1A, the serving gNB for UE 105 is assumed to be gNB 110-1, althoughother gNBs (e.g. gNB 110-2 and/or gNB 110-3) may act as a serving gNB ifUE 105 moves to another location or may act as a secondary gNB toprovide additional throughout and bandwidth to UE 105.

Base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1A may also orinstead include a next generation evolved Node B, also referred to as anng-eNB, 114. Ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more gNBs 110 inNG-RAN 135—e.g. directly or indirectly via other gNBs 110 and/or otherng-eNBs. An ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE wireless access and/or evolvedLTE (eLTE) wireless access to UE 105, as defined by 3GPP. Some gNBs 110(e.g. gNB 110-2) and/or ng-eNB 114 in FIG. 1A may be configured tofunction as positioning-only beacons, which may transmit signals (e.g.PRS signals) and/or may broadcast assistance data to assist positioningof UE 105 but may not receive signals from UE 105 or from other UEs. Itis noted that while only one ng-eNB 114 is shown in FIG. 1A, someembodiments may include multiple ng-eNBs 114. In some implementations,gNBs 110 and/or ng-eNBs 114 may support location of a UE 105—e.g. byrequesting location measurements of PRS transmission from UE 105 anddetermining a location estimate for UE 105 using the PRS locationmeasurements and other known information such as the locations of theantennas which transmit the measured PRS. In some embodiments, locationof UE 105 by a gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114 may be in response to a locationrequest for UE 105 received by the gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114 from the UE105, from the AMF 115 or from the LMF 120.

As will be discussed in greater detail below, in some embodiments, thegNBs 110 and/or ng-eNB 114 (alone or in combination with othermodules/units of the communication system 100) may be configured, inresponse to receiving a request from a UE 105, LMF 120 or another gNB110 or another ng-eNB 114, to transmit PRS using an increased quantityof resources. As noted, while FIG. 1A depicts nodes configured tocommunicate according to 5G NR and LTE communication protocols for anNG-RAN 135, nodes configured to communicate according to othercommunication protocols may be used, such as, for example, an LTEprotocol for an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) or an IEEE 802.11xprotocol for a WLAN. For example, in a 4G Evolved Packet System (EPS)providing LTE wireless access to UE 105, a RAN may comprise an E-UTRAN,which may comprise base stations comprising evolved Node Bs (eNBs)supporting LTE wireless access. A core network for EPS may comprise anEvolved Packet Core (EPC). An EPS may then comprise an E-UTRAN plus EPC,where the E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN 135 and the EPC corresponds to5GC 140 in FIG. 1A. The methods and techniques described herein forsupport of on-demand PRS transmission for UE 105 positioning may beapplicable to such other networks.

The gNBs 110 and ng-eNB 114 can communicate with an Access and MobilityManagement Function (AMF) 115, which, for positioning functionality,communicates with a Location Management Function (LMF) 120. The AMF 115may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell change and handoverand may participate in supporting a signaling connection to the UE 105and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 maysupport positioning of the UE 105 when UE accesses the NG-RAN 135 andmay support position procedures/methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS),Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), Real Time Kinematic (RTK),Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), EnhancedCell ID (ECID), Round Trip signal propagation Time (RTT), angle ofarrival (AOA), angle of departure (AOD), time of arrival (TOA),receive-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx) and/or other positioningprocedures. The LMF 120 may also process location services requests forthe UE 105, e.g., received from the AMF 115 or from the GMLC 125. TheLMF 120 may be connected to AMF 115 and/or to GMLC 125. In someembodiments, a node/system that implements the LMF 120 may additionallyor alternatively implement other types of location-support modules, suchas an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC). It is noted thatin some embodiments, at least part of the positioning functionality(including derivation of a UE 105's location) may be performed at the UE105 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by UE 105 for signalstransmitted by wireless nodes such as gNBs 110 and ng-eNB 114, andassistance data provided to the UE 105, e.g. by LMF 120).

The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125 may support a locationrequest for the UE 105 received from an external client 130 and mayforward such a location request to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF115 to the LMF 120 or may forward the location request directly to theLMF 120. A location response from the LMF 120 (e.g. containing alocation estimate for the UE 105) may be similarly returned to the GMLC125 either directly or via the AMF 115, and the GMLC 125 may then returnthe location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to theexternal client 130. The GMLC 125 is shown connected to both the AMF 115and LMF 120 in FIG. 1A though only one of these connections may besupported by 5GC 140 in some implementations.

A User Plane Function (UPF) 128 may support voice and data bearers forUE 105 and may enable UE 105 voice and data access to other networkssuch as the Internet 175. UPF 128 functions may include: externalProtocol Data Unit (PDU) session point of interconnect to a DataNetwork, packet (e.g. Internet Protocol (IP)) routing and forwarding,packet inspection and user plane part of policy rule enforcement,Quality of Service (QoS) handling for user plane, downlink packetbuffering and downlink data notification triggering. UPF 128 may beconnected to a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP)129 to enable support of location of UE 105 using the SUPL locationsolution defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). SLP 129 may befurther connected to or accessible from external client 130.

As illustrated, a Session Management Function (SMF) 126 connects the AMF115 and the UPF 128. The SMF 126 may have the capability to control botha local and a central UPF within a PDU session. SMF 126 may manage theestablishment, modification and release of PDU sessions for UE 105,perform IP address allocation and management for UE 105, act as aDynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server for UE 105, and selectand control a UPF 128 on behalf of UE 105.

The external client 130 may be connected to the core network 140 via theGMLC 125 and/or the SLP 129. The external client 130 may optionally beconnected to the core network 140 and/or to a location server 120A,which may be, e.g., an SLP, that is external to 5GCN 140, via theInternet 175. The external client 130 may be a server, a web server, ora user device, such as a personal computer, a UE, etc.

As further illustrated in FIG. 1A, the LMF 120 may communicate with thegNBs 110 and/or with the ng-eNB 114 using a New Radio Position ProtocolA (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa), which may be defined in3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. As further illustrated in FIG.1A, LMF 120 and UE 105 may communicate using an LTE Positioning Protocol(LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. LMF 120 and UE 105 mayalso or instead communicate using a New Radio Positioning Protocol(which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as,similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and/or NPP messages may betransferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 and aserving gNB 110-1 or serving ng-eNB 114 for UE 105. For example, LPPand/or NPP messages may be transferred between the LMF 120 and the AMF115 using service operations based on the HyperText Transfer Protocol(HTTP) and may be transferred between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 using a5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP and/or NPP protocol may beused to support positioning of UE 105 using UE assisted and/or UE basedposition methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, AOD, RTT and/or ECID. TheNRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of UE 105 usingnetwork based position methods such as ECID (e.g. when used withmeasurements obtained by a gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114) and/or may be used byLMF 120 to obtain location related information from gNBs 110 and/orng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining PRS transmission from gNBs 110and/or ng-eNB 114.

With a UE assisted position method, UE 105 may obtain locationmeasurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g. LMF120 or SLP 129) for computation of a location estimate for UE 105. Forexample, the location measurements may include one or more of a ReceivedSignal Strength Indication (RSSI), Round Trip signal propagation Time(RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference SignalReceived Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), AOA,and/or AOD for gNBs 110, ng-eNB 114 and/or a WLAN access point (AP). Thelocation measurements may also or instead include measurements of GNSSpseudorange, code phase and/or carrier phase for SVs 190. With a UEbased position method, UE 105 may obtain location measurements (e.g.which may be the same as or similar to location measurements for a UEassisted position method) and may compute a location of UE 105 (e.g.with the help of assistance data received from a location server such asLMF 120 or broadcast by gNBs 110, ng-eNB 114 or other base stations orAPs). With a network based position method, one or more base stations(e.g. gNBs 110 and/or ng-eNB 114) or APs may obtain locationmeasurements (e.g. measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA or Time OfArrival (TOA)) for signals transmitted by UE 105, and/or may receivemeasurements obtained by UE 105, and may send the measurements to alocation server (e.g. LMF 120) for computation of a location estimatefor UE 105.

Information provided by the gNBs 110 and/or ng-eNB 114 to the LMF 120using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for PRStransmission and location coordinates. The LMF 120 can then provide someor all of this information to the UE 105 as assistance data in an LPPand/or NPP message via the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140.

An LPP or NPP message sent from the LMF 120 to the UE 105 may instructthe UE 105 to do any of a variety of things, depending on desiredfunctionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message could contain aninstruction for the UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS),WLAN, and/or OTDOA (or some other position method). In the case ofOTDOA, the LPP or NPP message may instruct the UE 105 to obtain one ormore measurements (e.g. RSTD measurements) of PRS signals transmittedwithin particular cells supported by particular gNBs 110 and/or ng-eNB114 (or supported by some other type of base station such as an eNB orWiFi AP). An RSTD measurement may comprise the difference in the timesof arrival at the UE 105 of a signal (e.g. a PRS signal) transmitted orbroadcast by one gNB 110 and a similar signal transmitted by another gNB110. The UE 105 may send the measurements back to the LMF 120 in an LPPor NPP message (e.g. inside a 5G NAS message) via the serving gNB 110-1(or serving ng-eNB 114) and the AMF 115.

As noted, while the communication system 100 is described in relation to5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented tosupport other communication technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.,that are used for supporting and interacting with mobile devices such asthe UE 105 (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and otherfunctionalities). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 may beconfigured to control different air interfaces. For example, in someembodiments, 5GC 140 may be connected to a WLAN, either directly orusing a Non-3GPP InterWorking Function (N3IWF, not shown FIG. 1A) in the5GC 140. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access forUE 105 and may comprise one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF mayconnect to the WLAN and to other elements in the 5GC 140 such as AMF115. In some other embodiments, both the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 maybe replaced by other RANs and other core networks. For example, in anEPS, the NG-RAN 135 may be replaced by an E-UTRAN containing eNBs andthe 5GC 140 may be replaced by an EPC containing a Mobility ManagementEntity (MME) in place of the AMF 115, an E-SMLC in place of the LMF 120and a GMLC that may be similar to the GMLC 125. In such an EPS, theE-SMLC may use LPPa in place of NRPPa to send and receive locationinformation to and from the eNBs in the E-UTRAN and may use LPP tosupport positioning of UE 105. In these other embodiments, on-demand PRStransmission for positioning of a UE 105 may be supported in ananalogous manner to that described herein for a 5G network with thedifference that functions and procedures described herein for gNBs 110,ng-eNB 114, AMF 115 and LMF 120 may, in some cases, apply instead toother network elements such eNBs, WiFi APs, an MME and an E-SMLC.

To support certain position methods such as OTDOA using transmission ofPRS or other DL signals, base stations may be synchronized. In asynchronized NR network, the transmission timing of gNBs 110 may besynchronized such that each gNB 110 has the same transmission timing asevery other gNB 110 to a high level of precision—e.g. 50 nanoseconds orless. Alternatively, the gNBs 110 may be synchronized at a radio frameor subframe level such that each gNB 110 transmits a radio frame orsubframe during the same time duration as every other gNB 110 (e.g. suchthat each gNB 110 starts and finishes transmitting a radio frame orsubframe at almost precisely the same times as every other gNB 110), butdoes not necessarily maintain the same counters or numbering for radioframes or subframes. For example, when one gNB 110 is transmitting asubframe or radio frame with counter or number zero (which may be thefirst radio frame or subframe in some periodically repeated sequence ofradio frames or subframes), another gNB 110 may be transmitting a radioframe or subframe with a different number or counter such as one, ten,one hundred etc.

Synchronization of the transmission timing of ng-eNBs 114 in NG-RAN 135may be supported in a similar manner to synchronization of gNBs 110,although since ng-eNBs 114 may typically use a different frequency togNBs 110 (to avoid interference), an ng-eNB 114 may not always besynchronized to gNBs 110. Synchronization of gNBs 110 and ng-eNBs 114may be achieved using a GPS receiver or a GNSS receiver in each gNB 110and ng-eNB 114 or by other means such as using the IEEE 1588 PrecisionTime Protocol.

In the case of on demand transmission of PRS, base stations (BSs), suchas gNBs 110 and ng-eNB 114 in communication system 100 or eNBs in anEPS, could each transmit a PRS using a low bandwidth and low duration ofPRS on a continuous background basis (e.g., using 1 or 2 subframes perpositioning occasion and 1.4 MHz bandwidth in the case of eNBs) andtemporarily switch to high bandwidth (e.g. 20 MHz) and/or high duration(e.g., 6 subframes per positioning occasion) when requested by UE 105.To support fast switching between low and high PRS resource allocation,a UE 105 request for high PRS resource allocation could be sent using aRadio Resource Control (RRC) protocol to a serving BS for UE 105 (e.g. aserving gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114 for UE 105 access to NG-RAN 135 or aserving eNB for UE 105 access to E-UTRAN). The serving BS may beconfigured to transfer or communicate the request to neighboring BSs.The request for high PRS resource allocation could be combined with arequest by UE 105 for measurement gaps in the case that PRS istransmitted for some cells using a different frequency and/or differentRAT to those for the serving cell for UE 105. A location server (e.g. anE-SMLC for EPS or LMF 120 for 5GC 140) could then provide the UE 105with the background low resource PRS configuration for the reference andneighbor cells for OTDOA positioning and could also indicate whetherswitching to high PRS resource allocation was supported. Alternatively,this information could be provided to a UE 105 via periodic broadcastfrom a gNB 110 (e.g. broadcast in a positioning related SIB). In thecase that switching to high PRS resource allocation was supported, thelocation server (or gNB 110 in the case of information transfer viabroadcast) could indicate to the UE 105 the types of increased PRSresource allocation supported such as increased PRS bandwidth, increasedPRS subframes per positioning occasion and/or availability of ULfrequency for DL PRS transmission (e.g. where the UL frequency istemporarily reassigned to DL PRS transmission). For each supported typeof increased PRS resource allocation, the location server (or gNB 110)could also indicate the available amounts of increased PRS resourceallocation such as available (or maximum) PRS bandwidth values,available (or maximum) numbers of PRS subframes per positioning occasionand/or one or more DL PRS configurations available on an UL carrierfrequency.

When switching to high PRS resource allocation is supported, the UE 105could send an RRC protocol request to the serving BS (e.g. serving eNBfor E-UTRAN access or serving gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114 for NG-RAN 135access), and include, for example, the PRS frequencies the UE 105 isable to measure, the maximum PRS resource allocation the UE 105 canmeasure (e.g., the maximum PRS bandwidth and/or maximum number ofsubframes per PRS positioning occasion), whether the UE 105 supportsmeasurements of DL PRS on an uplink frequency (e.g. an uplink frequencyfor Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD)), and/or whether measurement gapsare needed. For example, if the location server had indicated to the UE105 the available amounts of increased PRS resource allocation, the UE105 could indicate a maximum increased PRS resource allocation, withinthe available amounts, which the UE 105 is able to measure. The UE 105may also include the identities of the reference and neighbor cells forOTDOA which may have been previously provided to the UE 105 by alocation server (e.g. LMF 120) when requesting OTDOA RSTD, RSRP or Rx-Txmeasurements from UE 105. The serving BS could then send a request forincreased PRS resource allocation (e.g. higher PRS bandwidth, moresubframes per PRS positioning occasion, and/or use of PRS broadcastusing uplink frequency) to neighbor BSs for the reference and neighborcells indicated by the UE 105 (and/or to other neighbor BSs able tosupport an increased allocation of PRS resources). The serving BS couldalso optionally send an RRC confirmation to the UE 105 to confirm thatthe UE 105 request for increased PRS resource allocation will besupported and could provide configuration parameters for the increasedPRS transmission such as an increased PRS bandwidth, increased number ofPRS subframes per positioning occasion, use of particular subframes andbandwidth for an UL frequency, and/or the identities of cells for whichthe increased PRS transmission will be supported. The UE 105 would thenobtain PRS measurements using the increased PRS resource allocation.

If there was no RRC confirmation from the serving BS, the UE 105 couldassume that the increased PRS transmission for the high PRS resourceallocation will be supported. Alternatively, the UE 105 may measure botha high and a low PRS resource allocation and determine which PRSallocation was used by the network from an estimated accuracy of theresulting RSTD (or RSRP or Rx-Tx) measurements. The low PRS resourceallocation may correspond to the PRS resource allocation indicated bythe location server (e.g. in a previous request for OTDOA RSTDmeasurements) or by a gNB 110, whereas the high PRS resource allocationmay correspond to a high PRS resource allocation indicated by the server(or gNB 110) as being supported or to a high PRS resource allocationindicated by the UE 105 to the serving BS as being supported by the UE105. The UE 105 could then assume that low PRS resource allocation wasused, and could then use only the RSTD measurements (or RSRP or Rx-Txmeasurements) for low PRS resource allocation, when the RSTD (or RSRP orRx-Tx) measurements for the high PRS resource allocation were found tobe less accurate than for the low PRS resource allocation or could notbe obtained by the UE 105. Similarly, the UE 105 could assume that highPRS resource allocation was used, and use only the RSTD (or RSRP orRx-Tx) measurements for high PRS resource allocation, when the RSTD (orRSRP or Rx-Tx) measurements for the low PRS resource allocation werefound to be less accurate than for the high resource allocation or couldnot be obtained by the UE 105. Optionally, after the RSTD (or RSRP orRx-Tx) measurements were obtained, the UE 105 could send another RRCrequest to the serving BS to advise that increased PRS resourceallocation is no longer needed by UE 105.

To support high resource allocation for PRS with Time Division Duplexing(TDD), increased PRS transmission may be dynamically increased by eachbase station (e.g. gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114) on a per-slot or per-subframebasis—e.g. by dynamically assigning more DL subframes for PRStransmission by certain gNBs 110 and/or ng-eNBs 114. To support highresource allocation for PRS with FDD, certain uplink subframes atcertain gNBs 110 and/or ng-eNBs 114 may be temporarily reassigned fordownlink PRS transmission. Since (with FDD) the UL frequency would bedifferent to DL frequency used for other PRS transmission, this couldimprove PRS measurement accuracy by UE 105 due to better frequencydiversity. However, involved gNBs 110 and ng-eNBs 114 may need to betime synchronized to avoid interfering with normal UL transmission fromUEs in other subframes and a UE 105 may need to be able to receive,acquire and measure DL PRS on an UL frequency carrier. In addition,cross-link interference with UL signaling and UL data transmitted by UEsoutside the cells which use DL PRS transmission on UL carriers may needto be avoided or reduced—e.g. using cross-link interference managementprocedures such as an advanced receiver, scheduling coordination, etc.In addition, the maximum power that may be allowed by local regulationsfor transmission of DL PRS on uplink frequencies may be much lower thanfor transmission of DL PRS on downlink frequencies, which may requirethat DL PRS transmission on uplink frequencies is only used by gNBs 110and ng-eNBs 114 close to a particular target UE 105.

In some implementations, a permanent level of high resource allocationmight be used for PRS transmission (e.g. using increased PRS bandwidth,an increased number of PRS subframes per positioning occasion and/oruplink carrier frequency) but only with a long periodicity (e.g. withone positioning occasion every 1 to 5 minutes) which may allow moreaccurate location for a UE 105 but with increased latency in obtainingand providing the more accurate location to an external client 130.

To support situations where many UEs may be sending requests forincreased PRS resource allocation (or sending requests for an increasein other types of location-determination resources, such as assistancedata) at around the same time, a serving BS, referred to here as a “NodeA”, could send one request to a neighbor BS, referred to here as a “NodeB”, when increased PRS resource allocation is needed for some UE 105,and could include a validity time T (e.g., 1 minute) for this request.The validity time, T, might be set to a higher value (e.g. 2 to 5minutes) if the Node A had received many requests for increased PRSresource allocation from UEs over a recent short interval. Further,after sending the request for increased PRS resource allocation to NodeB, if the Node A receives a request for increased PRS resourceallocation from another UE, it may not send another request forincreased PRS resource allocation to the Node B if the previous validitytime T has not yet expired. When the validity time T expires at Node B,the Node B can switch back to the background low PRS resourceallocation. Alternatively, the Node B may combine the requests forincreased PRS resource allocation received from all neighbor BSs, aswell as local requests for increased PRS resource allocation receivedfrom UEs served by Node B and maintain a single validity time T* thatexpires after all the requested validity times have expired. Thistechnique may reduce signaling among BSs (e.g. among gNBs 110 or amongng-eNBs 114) and may ensure that PRS with high resource allocation istransmitted when needed.

FIG. 1B shows a positioning architecture diagram applicable tocommunication system 100 in FIG. 1A, according to an embodiment. Thepositioning architecture shown in FIG. 1B can be a subset of thearchitecture shown in FIG. 1A that is applicable to NG-RAN 135, andshows additional elements in NG-RAN 135 not shown in FIG. 1A, and may beused to support NR RAT dependent position methods. As illustrated, theLMF 120 may be in communication with an Enhanced Serving Mobile LocationCenter (E-SMLC) 127 (e.g. which may be part of a separate EPC) and aSecure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP) 129.

It should be noted that the gNBs 110 and ng-eNB 114 may not always bothbe present in the NG-RAN 135. Moreover, when both the gNBs 110 andng-eNB 114 are present, the NG-C interface with the AMF 115 may onlypresent for one of them.

As illustrated, a gNB 110 may be allowed to control one or moreTransmission Points (TPs) 111, such as remote radio heads, orbroadcast-only TPs for improved support of DL position methods such asOTDOA, AOD, RTT or ECID. Additionally, a gNB 110 may be allowed tocontrol one or more Reception Points (RPs) 113, such as remote radioheads or internal Location Measurement Units (LMUs) for UL measurementsfor position methods such as Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UTDOA),AOA, RTT or ECID. In some implementations, a TP 111 and RP 113 may becombined into a Transmission Reception Point (TRP) (not shown in FIG.1B) which performs the functions of both a TP 111 and an RP 113. A TP111, RP 113 and/or a TRP may be part of or may comprise a DistributedUnit (DU, also referred to as gNB-DU) in a gNB 110 which manages ULand/or DL transmission and reception for one or more cells according to5G NR. Further, a gNB 110 may include a Location Management Component(LMC) 117 (also referred to as a “local LMF”), which may be a locationserver (or location server function) enabled to support positioning of atarget UE 105 in a serving gNB 110 or a neighboring gNB 110 for UE 105.Positioning of a UE 105 by an LMC 117 in a serving or neighboring gNB110 can be used to provide a location service to a UE 105, serving AMF115 or LMF 120 and to improve NG-RAN operation—e.g. by assisting withhandover and distribution of UEs among available NG-RAN nodes.

An LMC 117 may support positioning of a UE 105 in a similar or identicalmanner to an LMF 120 and may support the same or similar positionmethods (e.g. OTDOA, RTT, AOD, AOA, UTDOA, ECID, A-GNSS, RTK). An LMC 17may be part of a Central Unit (CU, also referred to as gNB-CU) in a gNB110, where the CU may also manage and control the overall operation ofthe gNB 110 and serve as an endpoint for RRC communication with a UE105, Xn communication with another gNB 110, NGAP communication with anAMF 154 and/or NRPPa communication with an LMF 120. Alternatively, LMC117 may be a separate element in a gNB 110 and be connected to a CU inthe gNB 110 (e.g. using an F1 interface). For example, the LMC 117 mayrequest location measurements from the UE 105, e.g., using RRC or LPP,may manage UL location measurements by one or more gNBs 110 of the UE105, and may provide cell database assistance data and/or UL locationmeasurements to a UE 105 for position methods such as OTDOA, AOD andRTT. The LMC 117 may further manage static and dynamic scheduling of PRSbroadcast and broadcast of assistance data by one or more gNBs 110,interact with neighboring gNBs 110 (e.g. using XnAP and NRPPa) tocoordinate location support, e.g., exchange location measurements for aUE 105 or coordinate changes to PRS transmission. The LMC 117 maydetermine a location estimate for a UE 105. The LMC 117 may provide alocation service capability to a serving AMF (e.g. using a NextGeneration Application Protocol (NGAP)), provide a location servicecapability to an LMF 120 (e.g. using NRPPa), and provide a locationservice capability to a UE 105 (e.g. using RRC or LPP).

Peer level LMCs 117 may communicate using an Xn Application Protocol(XnAP) or a location specific protocol above XnAP in order to coordinatesupport of these functions, e.g. to enable continuing location of a UE105 following a handover of UE 105 to a new serving gNB 110.

Thus, an LMC 117 may allow or support NG-RAN 135 determination of a UE105 location which can be requested by the UE 105 (e.g. using RRC orLPP), by a serving AMF 154 (e.g., using NGAP), by another gNB 110 (e.g.using XnAP) or by an LMF 120 (e.g. using NRPPa). Such a capability couldallow location support without the need for an LMF 120 (or GMLC 125(shown in FIG. 1A) in the 5GC 140 and can also be used to reduce latencyin position determination (since the NG-RAN 135 is closer to a UE 105than an LMF 120) and offload location support from an LMF 120.

FIG. 2 shows a signaling flow 200 that illustrates various messages sentbetween components of the communication system 100 depicted in FIGS. 1Aand 1B, during a location session between the UE 105 and the LMF 120.While the flow diagram 200 is discussed, for ease of illustration, inrelation to a 5G NR wireless access using gNBs 110, signaling flowssimilar to FIG. 2 involving ng-eNBs 114 or eNBs rather than gNBs 110will be readily apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art.Furthermore, in some embodiments, the UE 105 itself may be configured todetermine its location using, for example, assistance data provided toit. In the signaling flow 200, it is assumed that the UE 105 and LMF 120communicate using the LPP positioning protocol referred to earlier,although use of NPP or a combination of LPP and NPP is also possible.

FIG. 2 illustrates a procedure for LMF control of PRS transmission bygNBs 110, which may be used to assist downlink (DL) positioning of UEsusing LPP for such position methods as OTDOA, ECID, AOA, RTT and AODwhich are controlled by the LMF 120. An LMF 120 would then determinechanges to PRS transmission and send a message (e.g. an NRPPa message)to affected gNBs 110 to request a change to PRS transmission. The LMF120 could determine the changes based on QoS requirements for locationrequests and on the capabilities of target UEs (e.g. UE 105) and gNBs110 (e.g. if gNB capabilities are configured in the LMF 120) to supportincreased PRS transmission. The LMF 120 could control PRS transmissionfrom gNBs 110 and/or from TPs 111 and/or TRPs within gNBs 110. Thus, oneor more of gNBs 110 in FIG. 2 could each be replaced by a TP 111 or aTRP. In addition or instead, in some embodiments, LMF 120 in FIG. 2 maybe replaced by an LMC 117.

At stage 1 in FIG. 2 (e.g. and in response to receiving a locationrequest for UE 105 from another entity such as GMLC 125), the servingAMF 115 for UE 105 invokes an Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation serviceoperation towards the LMF 120 to request the current location of the UE105. The service operation may include the serving cell identity, theLCS client type and may include a required QoS.

At stage 2, the LMF 120 sends an LPP Request Capabilities message to theUE 105 (also referred to as the “target UE” 105) to request thepositioning capabilities of the UE 105.

At stage 3, the UE 105 returns an LPP Provide Capabilities message tothe LMF 120 to provide the positioning capabilities of the UE 105. Thepositioning capabilities may include the DL PRS measurement capabilitiesof the UE 105.

At stage 4, and based on the LCS client type (e.g. an emergency servicesclient type or a commercial client type), the quality of service (QoS)if provided at stage 1, the DL PRS measurement capabilities of the UE105, and/or the capabilities of gNBs 110 to support increasedtransmission of PRS (e.g. which may be configured in LMF 120 orrequested by LMF 120 from each gNB 110), the LMF 120 determines gNBs 110nearby to the location of the UE 105 (e.g. as indicated by the servingcell ID received at stage 1) to be measured by the UE 105 and a PRSconfiguration or a new PRS configuration for each of the gNBs 110. TheLMF 120 may determine a new PRS configuration for a gNB 110 when the LMF120 is aware of (e.g. is configured with) a normal default “old” PRSconfiguration for the gNB 110 and determines that an increase in PRStransmission from this gNB 110 is needed. The LMF 120 may also determinea PRS configuration for a gNB 110 when the LMF 120 is not aware of (e.g.is not configured with) a normal default “old” PRS configuration for thegNB 110 and determines that a particular level of PRS transmission fromthis gNB 110 is needed. In either case, the PRS configuration that isdetermined for a gNB 110 is referred to herein as a “new PRSconfiguration”.

The determination at stage 4 may also be based on location requests forother UEs nearby to the target UE 105 which are received by the LMF 120at about the same time. The new PRS configuration for each gNB 110 mayuse increased PRS bandwidth, a longer duration of PRS positioningoccasions, PRS transmission on new (e.g. more) frequencies, and/or ahigher frequency of PRS positioning occasions and may, in some cases, beselected from a set of one or more preconfigured (or predefined) sets ofPRS configuration parameters to support increased PRS transmission. Inthe case of support for directional PRS beams by gNBs 110 (where PRStransmission is directed across a narrow range of horizontal and/orvertical angles, such as angles spanning 5-20 degrees), the LMF 120 maydetermine directional PRS beams for each gNB 110 which should bereceived by the target UE 105 (or by any UE in a set of target UEs whenthe LMF 120 increases PRS transmission for multiple target UEs), and mayprovide a new PRS configuration only for these directional PRS beams.The directional PRS beams may be selected by the LMF 120 according to aknown approximate location for the target UE 105 (or known approximatelocations for a set of target UEs), e.g. as given by the serving cellprovided in stage 1.

At stage 5, the LMF 120 sends an NRPPa PRS Reconfiguration Requestmessage to each of the gNBs 110 determined at stage 4 and includes thenew PRS configuration determined for that gNB 110. The request may alsoinclude a start time for each new PRS configuration and/or a duration.

At stage 6, each of the gNBs 110 returns a response to the LMF 120indicating whether the new PRS configuration can be supported (or is nowbeing transmitted). If some gNBs 110 indicate that a new PRSconfiguration cannot be supported, the LMF 120 may perform stages 15 and16 to restore the old PRS configurations in each of the gNBs 110 whichindicated a new PRS configuration can be supported in order to avoidinterference between gNBs 110 which support the new PRS configurationand gNBs 110 which do not. In this case, the LMF 120 would provide theold PRS configurations to the UE 105 at stage 8 instead of the new PRSconfigurations. In one embodiment, if a gNB 110 is not able to supportthe requested new PRS configuration (e.g. due to a lack of resources atthe current time), it may provide a list of possible alternative PRSconfigurations in the response at stage 6 or may switch to transmittingsome other new PRS configuration that supports increased PRStransmission and indicate this new PRS configuration at stage 6. The LMF120 may then repeat stages 5 and 6 for some or all of the determinedgNBs 110 with different new PRS configurations.

At stage 7, each of the gNBs 110 which acknowledged support of a new PRSconfiguration at stage 6 changes from an old PRS configuration to a newPRS configuration either after (or just before) sending theacknowledgment at stage 6 if no start time was provided or at the starttime indicated in stage 5. In some cases, the old PRS configuration maycorrespond to not transmitting a DL PRS.

At stage 8, the LMF 120 sends an LPP Provide Assistance Data message tothe target UE 105 to provide the new PRS configurations determined atstage 4 and acknowledged at stage 6 and possibly other assistance datato assist the UE 105 to acquire and measure the new PRS configurationsand optionally determine a location from the PRS measurements.

At stage 9, the LMF 120 sends an LPP Request Location Informationmessage to the target UE 105 to request the UE 105 to measure DL PRStransmission by the gNBs 110 determined at stage 4 (and confirmed atstage 6) according to the new PRS configurations. For example, the LMF120 may request measurements of RSTD if OTDOA is used, Rx-Tx if RTT isused and/or RSRP if AOD is used. The LMF 120 may also indicate whetherUE based positioning is requested whereby the UE 105 determines its ownlocation. In some implementations, the LMF 120 may also include in theLPP Request Location Information message a request for locationmeasurements for other position methods which do not use PRS (e.g. WiFipositioning or A-GNSS positioning).

At stage 10, the target UE 105 acquires and measures the DL PRStransmitted by the gNBs 110 indicated at stage 8 according to the newPRS configurations provided at stage 8. For example, the UE 105 mayobtain RSTD measurements when OTDOA is used, TOA or Rx-Rx measurementswhen RTT is used, or AOA or RSRP measurements when AOA or AOD is used.The UE 105 may also obtain other non-PRS measurements in addition ifrequested at stage 9.

At stage 11, if UE 105 based positioning was requested at stage 9, theUE 105 determines its location based on the PRS measurements (and anyother measurements) obtained at stage 10 and the assistance datareceived at stage 8.

At stage 12, the UE 105 sends an LPP Provide Location Informationmessage to the LMF 120 and includes the PRS measurements (and any othermeasurements) obtained at stage 10 or the UE location obtained at stage11.

At stage 13, the LMF 120 determines the UE location based on any PRSmeasurements (and any other measurements) received at stage 12 or mayverify a UE location received at stage 12.

At stage 14, the LMF 120 returns an Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocationResponse to the AMF 115 to return the location obtained at stage 13. TheAMF 115 may then forward the location to another entity (e.g. GMLC 125)(not shown in FIG. 2).

At stage 15, if a duration was not included at stage 5, the LMF 120 maysend an NRPPa PRS Reconfiguration Request message to each of the gNBs110 determined at stage 4 and includes a request to restore the old PRSconfiguration for each gNB 110.

At stage 16, each of the gNBs 110 returns a response to the LMF 120indicating whether the old PRS configuration can be restored.

At stage 17, each of the gNBs 110 begins transmitting the old PRSconfiguration either when the duration received in stage 5 expires orafter receiving and acknowledging the request to restore the old PRSconfiguration at stages 15 and 16.

FIG. 3 shows a signaling flow 300 illustrating messages communicatedbetween various components of the communication system 100 of FIGS. 1Aand 1B with gNB control of DL PRS transmission. In a procedure in whichthere is gNB control of DL transmission, a gNB 110 (e.g. a gNB 110 CU)would determine changes to PRS transmission for one or more UEs servedby or camped on the gNB 110 and would send a message (e.g. an XnApplication Protocol (XnAP) message) to neighboring gNBs 110 to requesta similar change to PRS transmission. The gNB 110 could determine thePRS change based on UE 105 requests to the gNB 110 for increased PRStransmission and/or to support location procedures for one or more UEsthat are controlled by or at least involve the gNB 110. The gNB 110could base the PRS change on requests from, or location procedures for,multiple UEs—e.g. by only changing PRS when many UEs need (e.g. request)an increase in DL PRS transmission. While the signaling flow in FIG. 3is discussed, for ease of illustration, in relation to 5G NR wirelessaccess using gNBs 110, signaling flows similar to FIG. 3 involvingng-eNBs 114, eNBs or other TPs 111 or TRPs rather than gNBs 110 will bereadily apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art. Thus, one orboth of gNBs 110-2 and 110-3 in FIG. 3 could each be replaced by a TP111 or a TRP.

In the procedure illustrated in FIG. 3, a UE request for increased PRStransmission may use a random access procedure or a CCCH RRC message(e.g. when the UE is idle) or some other RRC message (e.g. when the UEis connected). As an example, the RRC LocationMeasurementIndicationmessage that is defined in 3GPP TS 38.331 that can be used to requestmeasurements gaps for OTDOA for LTE access could be extended to includea request for increased PRS transmission as well as a request formeasurement gaps for NR.

At stage 1 in FIG. 3, in some scenarios, the UE 105 receives a locationrequest from an internal client (e.g. an App).

At stage 2, in other scenarios, the UE 105 receives a location requestfrom an LMF 120—e.g. using LPP.

At stage 3, if stage 1 or 2 occurs, the UE 105 may determine that anincrease in PRS transmission is needed (e.g. increased PRS bandwidth,increased duration of positioning occasions or PRS transmission frommore nearby gNBs) to meet QoS requirements. The UE 105 then sends arandom access request or CCCH RRC request to a camped-on gNB 110-1 whenin idle state or some other RRC request to a serving gNB 110-1 when inconnected state and includes a request for increased PRS transmission.The request may include the PRS capabilities of the UE 105 and/orparameters for preferred PRS configurations (e.g. which may include apreferred PRS bandwidth, a preferred duration of PRS positioningoccasions and/or preferred PRS beam directions for certain gNBs if knownby the UE 105) and a preferred number of nearby gNBs 110 to which thisapplies. In order to reduce signaling bits, gNBs 110 may indicatesupported PRS configurations to UEs including full parameter details(e.g. in positioning SI messages) to allow a UE 105 to indicatepreferred or supported PRS configurations by referencing the PRSconfigurations supported by the gNBs 110 (e.g. using a bit map orinteger).

At stage 4, for other scenarios where stages 1-3 do not occur, a servinggNB 110-1 or an LMC 117 in the serving gNB 110-1 may need to obtain orassist in obtaining a location for the UE 105 using a location procedurebetween the UE 105 and gNB 110-1 or LMC (e.g. controlled using RRC orLPP). The location procedure may be instigated at the serving gNB 110-1or LMC 117 by a location request received from the UE 105 (e.g. usingRRC or LPP), a location request for the UE 105 received from a servingAMF 115 (e.g. using the Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP)), ora location request for the UE 105 received from an LMF 120 (e.g. usingNRPPa). In each of these cases, the serving gNB 110-1 or LMC 117 maydetermine that increased PRS transmission is needed to support thelocation procedure (e.g. to enable the serving gNB 110-1 or LMC 117 torequest and obtain DL PRS measurements from the UE 105 as part of thelocation procedure).

At stage 5, based on the request in stage 3 or the requirements for thelocation procedure in stage 4, a quality of service (QoS) (e.g. ifprovided at stage 3 or stage 4), the DL PRS measurement capabilities ofthe UE 105 (e.g. if obtained in stage 3 or stage 4), and/or thecapabilities of the gNB 110-1 and/or other gNBs 110 to support increasedtransmission of PRS (e.g. which may be configured in gNB 110-1), theserving or camped-on gNB 110-1 (or the gNB 110-1 that includes the LMC117) determines a new PRS configuration for itself and may determinenearby gNBs 110 and a new PRS configuration for each of these gNBs 110(e.g. based on a preferred number of gNBs indicated at stage 3 ordetermined as part of stage 4). The gNB 110-1 may determine a new PRSconfiguration for another gNB 110 when the gNB 110-1 is aware of (e.g.is configured with) a normal default “old” PRS configuration for theother gNB 110 and determines that an increase in PRS transmission fromthis gNB 110 is needed. The gNB 110-1 may also determine a PRSconfiguration for another gNB 110 when the gNB 110-1 is not aware of(e.g. is not configured with) a normal default “old” PRS configurationfor the other gNB 110 and determines that a particular level of PRStransmission from this gNB 110 is needed. In either case, the PRSconfiguration that is determined for another gNB 110 is referred toherein as a “new PRS configuration”

The determination at stage 5 may also be based on PRS requests receivedfrom other UEs as in stage 3 and/or on location procedures for other UEsas in stage 4 which occur at about the same time. The new PRSconfiguration for each gNB 110 may use increased PRS bandwidth, a longerduration of PRS positioning occasions, PRS transmission on newfrequencies, and/or a higher frequency of PRS positioning occasions andmay, in some cases, be selected from a set of one or more preconfiguredsets of PRS configuration parameters to support increased PRStransmission. In the case of support for directional PRS beams, theserving or camped-on gNB 110-1 may determine directional PRS beams foreach gNB 110 which should be received by the target UE 105, or by any UE105 in a set of target UEs when the gNB 110 increases PRS transmissionfor multiple target UEs, and may provide a new PRS configuration onlyfor these directional PRS beams. The directional PRS beams may beselected by the serving or camped-on gNB 110-1 according to a knownapproximate location for the target UE 105 (or known approximatelocations for a set of target UEs), e.g. as given by the coverage areaof the serving or camped-on cell for each UE 105.

At stage 6, if nearby gNBs 110 were determined at stage 5, the servingor camped-on gNB 110-1 sends an XnAP PRS Reconfiguration Request messageto each of these gNBs 110 and includes the new PRS configurationdetermined at stage 5 for each gNB 110. The request may also include astart time for each new PRS configuration and/or a duration and mayinclude the PRS configurations and the identities for some or all of thegNBs 110 determined at stage 5 so that each gNB 110 can correctlyinclude the PRS configurations for these gNBs 110 in SI messages sent byeach gNB 110 at stage 9.

At stage 7, if stage 6 occurs, each of the gNBs 110 returns a responseto the serving or camped-on gNB 110-1 indicating whether the new PRSconfiguration can be supported (or is now being transmitted). If somegNBs 110 indicate that a new PRS configuration cannot be supported, theserving or camped-on gNB 110-1 may perform stages 16 and 17 to restorethe old PRS configuration in each gNB 110 which indicated a new PRSconfiguration can be supported in order to avoid interference betweengNBs 110 which support a new PRS configuration and gNBs 110 whichcontinue to support an old PRS configuration. In this case, stages 8 and9 are omitted and the procedure continues with the UE 105 measuring theold PRS for all gNBs 110 at stage 10. In one embodiment, if a gNB 110 isnot able to support the requested new PRS configuration (e.g. due to alack of resources at the current time), it may provide a list ofpossible alternative PRS configurations in the response at stage 7 ormay switch to transmitting some other new PRS configuration thatsupports increased PRS transmission and indicate this new PRSconfiguration at stage 7. The gNB 110-1 may then repeat stages 6 and 7for some or all of the determined gNBs 110 with different new PRSconfigurations.

At stage 8, optionally, the serving or camped-on gNB 110-1 sends anNRPPa PRS Reconfiguration Notification to one or more LMFs 120 andincludes the new PRS configuration for each gNB 110 which acknowledged anew PRS configuration in stage 7. For example stage 8 may be performedfor an LMF 120 when the LMF 120 previously sent a request to the gNB110-1 for notifications of changes to PRS transmission at the gNB 110-1and/or at other gNBs 110.

At stage 9, each of the gNBs 110 which acknowledged a new PRSconfiguration at stage 7 (as well as gNB 110-1) changes from an old PRSconfiguration to the new PRS configuration either after (or just before)sending the acknowledgment at stage 7 if no start time was provided orat the start time indicated in stage 6. In some cases, the old PRSconfiguration may correspond to not transmitting a DL PRS. Each gNB 110may also provide an indication of the new PRS configurations for itselfand one or more nearby gNBs 110 in SI messages (e.g. positioning SImessages) to enable served or camped-on UEs to become aware of the newPRS configurations.

At stage 10, the target UE 105 acquires and measures the PRStransmission by one or more gNBs 110 at stage 9 according to the new PRSconfigurations. For example the UE 105 may obtain RSTD measurements whenOTDOA is used, TOA or Rx-Rx measurements when RTT is used, or AOA orRSRP measurements when AOA or AOD is used. The UE 105 may determine thenew PRS configurations from SI messages transmitted by the serving orcamped-on gNB 110-1 or from an RRC message sent by a serving gNB 110-1as part of a location procedure between the UE 105 and serving gNB 110-1(or LMC 117) in the case that stage 4 occurs.

At stage 11, if stage 1 occurred or if UE 105 based positioning wasrequested as part of stage 2 or stage 4, the UE 105 determines itslocation based on the PRS measurements obtained at stage 10 and anyassistance data that was received (e.g., in SI messages from the servingor camped-on gNB 110-1 when stage 1 occurs, from the serving gNB 110-1when stage 4 occurs or from the LMF 120 when stage 2 occurs).

At stage 12, if stage 1 occurs, the UE 105 provides the locationobtained at stage 11 to the internal client (e.g. an App).

At stage 13, if stage 2 occurs, the UE 105 sends the location obtainedat stage 11 when stage 11 occurs or the PRS measurements obtained atstage 10 to the LMF 120 (e.g. using LPP).

At stage 14, if stage 4 occurs, the UE 105 may return the locationobtained at stage 11 when stage 11 occurs or the PRS measurementsobtained at stage 10 to the serving gNB 110-1 or LMC 117 as part of thelocation procedure with the serving gNB 110-1 or LMC 117.

At stage 15, after the PRS measurements at stage 10 are complete and ifstage 3 occurs, the UE 105 may send a random access request to the samecamped-on gNB 110-1 as at stage 3 (or possibly a different gNB 110) whenin idle state or an RRC request to the same serving gNB 110-1 (orpossibly a different gNB 110) when in connected state and includes anindication that increased PRS transmission is no longer needed. In thecase of a random access request, the UE 105 may include a commonidentifier in the requests sent at stages 3 and 15 to enable thecamped-on gNB 110-1 to associate the two requests.

At stage 16, if a duration was not included at stage 6 and if a requestwas received at stage 15 and if other gNBs 110 were determined at stage5, the serving or camped-on gNB 110-1 may send an XnAP PRSReconfiguration Request message to each of the gNBs 110 whichacknowledged a new PRS configuration at stage 7 and includes a requestto restore the old PRS configuration for each gNB 110. When increasedPRS transmission was due to requests or location procedures for multipleUEs, the serving or camped-on gNB 110-1 may wait until increased PRStransmission is no longer needed for these UEs (e.g. as indicated bystages similar to stage 15 for these UEs or by termination of locationprocedures between the UEs and the gNB 110-1 or LMC 117) before sendingthe XnAP PRS Reconfiguration Request messages to the gNBs 110 at stage16 to restore the old PRS configurations.

At stage 17, each of the gNBs 110 may return a response to the servingor camped-on gNB 110-1 indicating whether the old PRS configuration canbe restored.

At stage 18, optionally, the serving or camped on gNB 110-1 sends anNRPPa PRS Reconfiguration Notification to one or more LMFs 120 andincludes an indication of restoring the old PRS configuration for eachgNB 110 which acknowledged the old PRS configuration in stage 17.

At stage 19, each of the gNBs 110 begins transmitting the old PRSconfiguration when the duration received (or sent) in stage 6 expires,after receiving and acknowledging the request to restore the old PRSconfiguration at stages 16 and 17, or after determining that increasedPRS transmission is no longer needed (e.g. following stage 15 when stage15 occurs) in the case of the serving or camped-on gNB 110-1.

An increase in PRS transmission from one gNB 110 may cause interferenceto transmission from other gNBs 110 and to transmission from UEs withTDD. Similarly, transmission from other gNBs 110 may interfere withincreased PRS transmission from a gNB 110.

In a synchronized or approximately synchronized NG-RAN 135, interferencecan be reduced by using the same PRS configuration in each cell withregard to bandwidth, carrier frequency, subcarriers and duration andoccurrence of positioning occasions. In this case, in each cell, PRS caneither be transmitted or muted during the same time intervals for thesame set of subcarriers and may only interfere with and receiveinterference from PRS transmitted in other cells. However, whenadditional resource elements (REs) are assigned in one cell to increasePRS transmission in this cell, the PRS transmission in these additionalREs can interfere with and receive interference from correspondingnon-PRS REs for other cells.

To avoid or reduce the additional interference caused by increased PRStransmission, the following alternatives are possible. A first option(referred to as “Option 1”) is to increase PRS transmission over a wholenetwork in a consistent manner such that the same set of additional REsare either used for increased PRS transmission or are muted at eachsubframe occurrence (for the increased PRS transmission) in every cell.A second option (referred to as “Option 2”) is to increase PRStransmission over one contiguous target area of a network and create abuffer zone around the target area in which counterparts to theadditional REs assigned for increased PRS transmission within the targetarea are muted for cells within the buffer zone. The buffer zone canreduce interference between non-PRS transmission from cells outside thebuffer zone and the additional PRS transmission from cells within thetarget area.

FIG. 4, by way of example, illustrates the use of zoning, e.g., in asystem, which may correspond to communication system 100. FIG. 4illustrates three concentric zones that surround a UE 105. Zone A, whichincludes the UE 105 and possibly other UEs, is a target area 402 ofincreased PRS transmission and, thus, the gNBs (e.g. gNBs 110 incommunication system 100) transmit PRS using increased resourceallocation. Zone B, which surrounds zone A, is a buffer zone 404 inwhich gNBs (e.g. gNBs 110) use normal PRS transmission and muting ofresource elements (REs) corresponding to the REs used for the increasedPRS transmission in Zone A. Zone C, which surrounds zone B, is a normalPRS transmission area 406 and, thus, gNBs (e.g. gNBs 110) may transmitnormal PRS (e.g., at a low resource allocation). The target area 402(e.g., zone A in FIG. 4) would include the approximately knownlocation(s) (e.g. the serving cell coverage area(s)) of the target UE(s)105 for the increased PRS transmission and might include additional gNBs110 and associated cells at the periphery which contain no target UEs105 in order to improve the geometry for increased PRS transmission forthe target UEs 105. In the event that there are several different targetareas that need increased PRS transmission (e.g. for one or more UEs 105in each separate area), the target areas may be combined if overlappingor close to one another and may use a combined buffer zone whichsurrounds the combined set of areas. FIG. 5 by way of example,illustrates three separate target areas 502A, 502B, and 502C havingincreased PRS transmission that are combined into a single target area,and is surrounded by a combined buffer zone 504 with normal PRStransmission and muting of REs used for increased PRS transmission inthe combined target area.

A third option (referred to as “Option 3”) to avoid or reduce additionalinterference is to restrict increased PRS transmission to directionalPRS beams and/or use lower power for the increased PRS transmission,such that additional interference from the increased PRS transmissionwill not be significant outside the target area of increased PRStransmission. For example, in the case of directional PRS transmission,gNBs 110 that are well inside the target area of increased PRStransmission can transmit increased PRS omni-directionally, whereas gNBs110 at or near the periphery of the target area can transmit increasedPRS only within the target area and not outside the target area, byincreasing PRS transmission only for PRS beams directed into the targetarea (and not for PRS beams directed outside the target area). FIG. 6,by way of example, illustrates a zone A, which is a target area 602 ofincreased PRS transmission directed within the area, and a surroundingzone B that is an area 604 with normal PRS transmission. In FIG. 6,arrows represent a direction of increased PRS transmission from a gNB.

Option 1 as described above may allow for increased PRS transmission butonly over a whole network. Thus, for example, increased PRS transmissioncould be efficiently correlated with an increase in the overall averagedemand for PRS measurements (e.g. an increase in the number of UEs beingpositioned at any one time) but not with an increase in demand that ispurely local such as at a sports stadium or convention center, wherethere may be a high local demand that may not be reflected elsewhere ina network. Option 1 may be suitable for LMF control because an LMF cancoordinate change in PRS over a whole network. However, Option 1 may notbe suitable for gNB control because each gNB is typically only aware ofPRS demand in its own local area and can only coordinate change in PRStransmission over a small area of interconnected gNBs.

Option 2, e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, allows for localizedchange of PRS transmission over a small area and may thus be suitablefor both LMF control and gNB control. However, there may be conflictswhen increased PRS transmission is needed in several nearby areas A1,A2, A3, etc. whose corresponding buffer zones B1, B2, B3 etc. overlapwith other areas (e.g. with A1 and B2 overlapping). In addition,different nearby gNBs may request increased PRS transmission within thesame area or within overlapping areas at similar times, which couldincrease the complexity of synchronizing the increases in PRStransmission. Such conflicting requests could be reconciled by a centralelement such as an LMF which is aware of all the requests as shown inthe example in FIG. 5, where separate overlapping areas of increased PRStransmission are combined into one larger area with one combinedsurrounding buffer zone. For these reasons, Option 2 may not be suitablefor gNB control. Option 2 may be used for LMF control because an LMF canensure that areas of increased PRS transmission and corresponding bufferzones are not in conflict. For example, Option 2 could be used tosupport increased PRS transmission for a sports stadium, shopping mallor convention center without requiring increased PRS transmissionthroughout an entire network as in Option 1.

Option 3, e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 6, may be suitable for both LMFcontrol and gNB control because increased PRS transmission may besupported using the example procedures in FIGS. 2 and 3 without needingto consider gNBs whose PRS transmission is not increased. In the case ofgNB control, requests from different nearby gNBs to increase PRStransmission by the same gNBs at different times could be supported byrequiring each gNB to transmit increased PRS so long as increased PRS isneeded for at least one served or camped-on UE or for at least one othergNB.

FIG. 7 shows a signaling flow 700 illustrating messages communicatedbetween various components of the communication system 100 of FIGS. 1Aand 1B with enhanced LMF control of DL PRS transmission. The procedureillustrated in FIG. 7 combines aspects of the procedures from FIGS. 2and 3, to obtain the advantages of both LMF control and gNB control ofon demand PRS transmission. While the signaling flow diagram 700 isdiscussed, for ease of illustration, in relation to 5G NR wirelessaccess using gNBs 110, signaling flows similar to FIG. 7 involvingng-eNBs 114, eNBs or TPs rather than gNBs 110 will be readily apparentto those with ordinary skill in the art. In FIG. 7 (as in FIGS. 2 and3), one or more of the gNBs 110 could each be replaced by a TP 111 or aTRP. In addition or instead, in some embodiments, LMF 120 in FIG. 7 maybe replaced by an LMC 117.

At stage 1 in FIG. 7, the LMF 120 sends an NRPPa PRS NotificationRequest to gNB 110-1 to request subsequent notification of a need forincreased PRS transmission. The request may include a duration ofnotification reporting, criteria for sending a notification as at stage4 and a minimum interval between successive notifications.

At stage 2, gNB 110-1 sends an acknowledgment of the request in stage 1to the LMF 120. Stages similar to stages 1-2 may occur for other gNBs110 (e.g. gNBs 110-2 and 110-3).

At stage 3, one or more of stages 1-4 of FIG. 3 are performed.

At stage 4 in FIG. 7, based on the request in stage 3 for FIG. 3 (whenthis stage occurs) or on the requirements for the location procedure instage 4 for FIG. 3 (when this stage occurs), and the criteria providedin stage 1 (in FIG. 7) for sending a notification, gNB 110-1 sends anNRPPa PRS Notification Report to the LMF 120 to request increased PRStransmission and may include preferred or supported PRS configurationsand possibly a preferred number of gNBs. In some cases, gNB 110-1 maywait to determine a need for increased PRS transmission for additionalUEs and may combine the notification for all UEs into one NRPPa PRSNotification Report to the LMF 120 which also indicates the number ofUEs to which this applies.

At stage 5 in FIG. 7, based on the notification in stage 4 and possiblyon the capabilities of gNBs 110 to support increased transmission of PRS(e.g. which may be configured in LMF 120 or requested by LMF 120 fromeach gNB 110), the LMF 120 determines gNBs 110 (e.g. gNBs 110-1, 110-2and 110-3 in FIG. 7) to which increased PRS transmission applies and anew PRS configuration for each of the gNBs 110. The LMF 120 maydetermine a new PRS configuration for a gNB 110 when the LMF 120 isaware of (e.g. is configured with) a normal default “old” PRSconfiguration for the gNB 110 and determines that an increase in PRStransmission from this gNB 110 is needed. The LMF 120 may also determinea PRS configuration for a gNB 110 when the LMF 120 is not aware of (e.g.is not configured with) a normal default “old” PRS configuration for thegNB 110 and determines that a particular level of PRS transmission fromthis gNB 110 is needed. In either case, the PRS configuration that isdetermined for a gNB 110 is referred to herein as a “new PRSconfiguration”

The determination at stage 5 may also be based on other NRPPa PRSNotification Reports received from other gNBs 110 (e.g. gNBs 110-2 and110-3) at about the same time. The new PRS configuration for each gNB110 may use increased PRS bandwidth, a longer duration of PRSpositioning occasions, PRS transmission on new frequencies, and/or ahigher frequency of PRS positioning occasions and may, in some cases, beselected from a set of one or more preconfigured sets of PRSconfiguration parameters to support increased PRS transmission. In thecase of support for directional PRS beams, the LMF 120 may determinedirectional PRS beams for each gNB 110 which should be received by anytarget UE 105, and may provide a new PRS configuration only for thesedirectional PRS beams. The directional PRS beams may be selected by theLMF 120 according to known approximate locations for target UEs, e.g. asgiven by the coverage area of each gNB 110 which requests an increase inPRS transmission.

At stage 6, the LMF 120 sends an NRPPa PRS Reconfiguration Requestmessage to each of the gNBs 110 determined at stage 5 and includes thenew PRS configuration determined for that gNB 110. The request may alsoinclude a start time for each new PRS configuration and/or a durationand may include the PRS configurations and the identities for some orall of the gNBs 110 determined at stage 5 so that each gNB 110 cancorrectly include the PRS configurations for these gNBs 110 in SImessages sent at stage 8.

At stage 7, each of the gNBs 110 returns a response to the LMF 120indicating whether the new PRS configuration can be supported (or is nowbeing transmitted). If some gNBs 110 indicate that a new PRSconfiguration cannot be supported, the LMF 120 may perform stages 12 and13 to restore the old PRS configuration in each of the gNBs 110 whichindicated a new PRS configuration can be supported in order to avoidinterference between gNBs 110 which support the new PRS configurationand gNBs 110 which do not. In one embodiment, if a gNB 110 is not ableto support the requested new PRS configuration (e.g. due to a lack ofresources at the current time), it may provide a list of possiblealternative PRS configurations in the response at stage 7 or may switchto transmitting some other new PRS configuration that supports increasedPRS transmission and indicate this new PRS configuration at stage 7. TheLMF 120 may then repeat stages 6 and 7 for some or all of the determinedgNBs 110 with different new PRS configurations.

At stage 8, each of the gNBs 110 which acknowledged support of a new PRSconfiguration at stage 7 changes from an old PRS configuration to thenew PRS configuration either after (or just before) sending theacknowledgment at stage 7 if no start time was provided or at the starttime indicated in stage 6. In some cases, the old PRS configuration maycorrespond to not transmitting a DL PRS. Each gNB 110 may also providean indication of the new PRS configuration for itself and one or morenearby gNBs 110 (e.g. as provided by the LMF 120 at stage 6) in SImessages (e.g. positioning SI messages) which are broadcast to allnearby served or camped-on UEs to enable the nearby UEs to become awareof the new PRS configurations.

At stage 9, the UE 105 acquires and measures the PRS transmitted by oneor more gNBs 110 at stage 8 according to the new PRS configurations. Forexample the UE 105 may obtain RSTD measurements when OTDOA is used, TOAor Rx-Rx measurements when RTT is used, or AOA or RSRP measurements whenAOA or AOD is used. The UE 105 may determine the new PRS configurationsfrom SI messages transmitted by a serving or camped-on gNB 110 (e.g. gNB110-1) or from an RRC message sent by a serving gNB 110-1 as part of alocation procedure between the UE 105 and serving gNB 110-1.

At stage 10 in FIG. 7, one or more of stages 11-15 of FIG. 3 areperformed

At stage 11 in FIG. 7, when increased PRS transmission is no longerneeded by gNB 110-1 and if the criteria received in stage 1 allow fornotification of this to the LMF 120, gNB 110-1 sends an NRPPa PRSNotification Report to the LMF 120 to indicate that the old PRSconfigurations can be restored.

At stage 12, based on the notification received at stage 11 and possiblyon similar notifications received from other gNBs 110 (e.g. gNBs 110-2and 110-3) and if a duration was not included at stage 6, the LMF 120may send an NRPPa PRS Reconfiguration Request message to each of thegNBs 110 which acknowledged a new PRS configuration at stage 7 andincludes a request to restore the old PRS configuration for each gNB110.

At stage 13, each of the gNBs 110 may return a response to the LMF 120indicating whether the old PRS configuration can be restored.

At stage 14, each of the gNBs 110 begins transmitting the old PRSconfiguration when the duration received in stage 6 expires or afterreceiving and acknowledging the request to restore the old PRSconfiguration at stages 12 and 13.

The procedure shown in FIG. 7 is mostly a superset of the procedure forLMF 120 control shown in FIG. 2, which means that an LMF 120 and gNBs110 could efficiently support both procedures. The advantages of bothprocedures can include the ability to coordinate increased PRStransmission over multiple gNBs 110 more flexibly than gNB control (asshown by the evaluation of Options 1, 2 and 3 above), the ability toincrease PRS transmission in advance of requesting PRS measurements froma UE 105 by an LMF 120, the ability to support UE based positioning forUEs caused by a request from an internal UE client, and the ability torespond to a UE request for increased PRS transmission with low latency(though higher latency than with gNB control).

FIG. 8 shows a structure of an example LTE subframe sequence 800 withPRS positioning occasions. While FIG. 8 provides an example of asubframe sequence for LTE in association with an EPS, similar oridentical subframe sequence implementations may be realized for othercommunication technologies/protocols, such as 5G NR. For example,support of PRS transmission by a gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114 in communicationsystem 100 may be similar or identical to that described for LTE in anEPS with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. In FIG. 8, time is representedhorizontally (e.g., on an X axis) with time increasing from left toright, while frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on a Y axis)with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top. As shownin FIG. 8, downlink and uplink LTE Radio Frames 810 may be of 10milliseconds (ms) duration each. For downlink Frequency DivisionDuplexing (FDD) mode, Radio Frames 810 are organized, in the illustratedembodiments, into ten subframes 812 of 1 ms duration each. Each subframe812 comprises two slots 814, each of, for example, 0.5 ms duration.

In the frequency domain, the available bandwidth may be divided intouniformly spaced orthogonal subcarriers 816. For example, for a normallength cyclic prefix using, for example, 15 kHz spacing, subcarriers 816may be grouped into a group of twelve (12) subcarriers. Each grouping,which comprises the 12 subcarriers 816, is termed a resource block and,in the example above, the number of subcarriers in the resource blockmay be written as N_(SC) ^(RB)=12. For a given channel bandwidth, thenumber of available resource blocks on each channel 822, which is alsocalled the transmission bandwidth configuration 822, is indicated asN_(RB) ^(DL). For example, for a 3 MHz channel bandwidth in the aboveexample, the number of available resource blocks on each channel 822 isgiven by N_(RB) ^(DL)=15.

In the communication system 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a gNB110, such as any of the gNBs 110-1, 110-2, or 110-3, or an ng-eNB 114may transmit frames, or other physical layer signaling sequences,supporting PRS signals (i.e. a downlink (DL) PRS) according to frameconfigurations similar or identical to that shown in FIG. 8 and (asdescribed later) in FIG. 9, which may be measured and used for UE (e.g.,UE 105) position determination. As noted, other types of wireless nodesand base stations may also be configured to transmit PRS signalsconfigured in a manner similar to that depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9. Sincetransmission of a PRS by a wireless node or base station is directed toall UEs within radio range, a wireless node or base station can also beconsidered to transmit (or broadcast) a PRS.

A PRS, which has been defined in 3GPP LTE Release-9 and later releases,may be transmitted by wireless nodes (e.g. eNBs) after appropriateconfiguration (e.g., by an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) server). APRS may be transmitted in special positioning subframes (also referredto as PRS subframes) that are grouped into positioning occasions (alsoreferred to as PRS positioning occasions). For example, in LTE, a PRSpositioning occasion can comprise a number N_(PRS) of consecutivepositioning subframes where the number N_(PRS) may be between 1 and 160(e.g. may include the values 1, 2, 4 and 6 as well as other values). ThePRS positioning occasions for a cell supported by a wireless node mayoccur periodically at intervals, denoted by a number T_(PRS), ofmillisecond (or subframe) intervals where T_(PRS) may equal 5, 10, 20,40, 80, 160, 320, 640, or 1280 (or any other appropriate value). As anexample, FIG. 8 illustrates a periodicity of positioning occasions whereN_(PRS) 818 equals 4 and T_(PRS) 820 is greater than or equal to 20. Insome embodiments, T_(PRS) may be measured in terms of the number ofsubframes between the start of consecutive positioning occasions.

Within each positioning occasion, a PRS may be transmitted with aconstant power. A PRS can also be transmitted with zero power (i.e.,muted). Muting, which turns off a regularly scheduled PRS transmission,may be useful when PRS signals between different cells overlap byoccurring at the same or almost the same time. In this case, the PRSsignals from some cells may be muted while PRS signals from other cellsare transmitted (e.g. at a constant power). Muting may aid signalacquisition and RSTD measurement, by UEs (such as the UE 105 depicted inFIGS. 1A-3), of PRS signals that are not muted (by avoiding interferencefrom PRS signals that have been muted). Muting may be viewed as thenon-transmission of a PRS for a given positioning occasion for aparticular cell. Muting patterns may be signaled (e.g. using LPP or NPP)to a UE 105 using bit strings. For example, in a bit string signaling amuting pattern, if a bit at position j is set to ‘0’, then the UE 105may infer that the PRS is muted for a j^(th) positioning occasion.

To further improve hearability of PRS, positioning subframes may below-interference subframes that are transmitted without user datachannels. As a result, in ideally synchronized networks, PRSs mayreceive interference from other cell PRSs with the same PRS patternindex (i.e., with the same frequency shift), but not from datatransmissions. The frequency shift, in LTE, for example, is defined as afunction of a PRS ID (denoted as N_(ID) ^(PRS)) for a cell orTransmission Point (TP) or as a function of a Physical Cell Identifier(PCI) (denoted as N_(ID) ^(cell)) if no PRS ID is assigned, whichresults in an effective frequency re-use factor of 6, as described in3GPP TS 36.211.

To also improve hearability of a PRS (e.g., when PRS bandwidth islimited such as with only 6 resource blocks corresponding to 1.4 MHzbandwidth), the frequency band for consecutive PRS positioning occasions(or consecutive PRS subframes) may be changed in a known and predictablemanner via frequency hopping. In addition, a cell supported by awireless node may support more than one PRS configuration, where eachPRS configuration comprises a distinct sequence of PRS positioningoccasions with a particular number of subframes (N_(PRS)) perpositioning occasion and a particular periodicity (T_(PRS)). Furtherenhancements of a PRS may also be supported by a wireless node.

In some embodiments, assistance data (e.g. for OTDOA) may be provided toa UE 105 by a location server (e.g., the LMF 120 or SLP 129 of FIG. 1A,an E-SMLC, etc.) for a “reference cell” and one or more “neighbor cells”or “neighboring cells” relative to the “reference cell.” For example,the assistance data may provide the center channel frequency of eachcell, various PRS configuration parameters (e.g., N_(PRS), T_(PRS),muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, code sequence, PRS ID, PRSbandwidth), a cell global ID, and/or other cell related parametersapplicable to OTDOA or some other positioning procedure.

PRS-based positioning by a UE 105 may be facilitated by indicating theserving cell for the UE 105 in the assistance data (e.g. with thereference cell indicated as being the serving cell). In the case of a UE105 with 5G NR wireless access, the reference cell may be chosen by theLMF 120 as some cell with good coverage at the expected approximatelocation of the UE 105 (e.g., as indicated by the known 5G NR servingcell for the UE 105).

In some embodiments, assistance data (e.g. for OTDOA) may also include“expected RSTD” parameters, which provide the UE 105 with informationabout the RSTD values the UE 105 is expected to measure at its currentlocation between the reference cell and each neighbor cell, togetherwith an uncertainty of the expected RSTD parameter. The expected RSTD,together with the associated uncertainty, define a search window for theUE 105 within which the UE 105 is expected to measure the RSTD value.Assistance information may also include PRS configuration informationparameters, which allow a UE 105 to determine when a PRS positioningoccasion occurs on signals received from various neighbor cells relativeto PRS positioning occasions for the reference cell, and to determinethe PRS sequence transmitted from various cells in order to measure asignal Time of Arrival (TOA) or RSTD.

Using the PRS measurements obtained by a UE 105 (e.g. measurements ofRSTD, Rx-Tx, RSRP and/or TOA), the known absolute or relativetransmission timing of each cell, the directions of PRS transmissionwhen directed PRS beams are transmitted, and/or the known position(s) ofwireless node physical transmitting antennas for the reference andneighboring cells, the UE 105's position may be calculated (e.g., by theUE 105, by the LMF 120, or by some other node). For example, in the caseof OTDOA, the RSTD for a cell “k” relative to a reference cell “Ref”,may be given as (TOA_(k)−TOA_(Ref)). TOA measurements for differentcells may then be converted to RSTD measurements (e.g. as defined in3GPP TS 36.214 entitled “Physical layer; Measurements”) and sent to thelocation server (e.g., the LMF 120 or an E-SMLC) by the UE 105. Using(i) the RSTD measurements, (ii) the known absolute or relativetransmission timing of each cell, and (iii) the known position(s) ofphysical transmitting antennas for the reference and neighboring cells,the UE 105's position may be determined using multilaterationtechniques. In the case of AOD, RSRP measurements by a UE 105 may beused to identify PRS beams that are directed at the location of the UE105 from two or more gNBs 110, enabling the location of UE 105 to beobtained using triangulation techniques.

FIG. 9 illustrates further aspects of PRS transmission for a cellsupported by a wireless node (such as an eNB, gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114).Again, PRS transmission for LTE in an EPS is assumed in FIG. 9 althoughthe same or similar aspects of PRS transmission to those shown in anddescribed for FIG. 9 may apply to 5G NR support by a gNB 110, LTEsupport by an ng-eNB 114 and/or other wireless technologies. FIG. 9shows how PRS positioning occasions are determined by a System FrameNumber (SFN), a cell specific subframe offset (A_(PRS)) and the PRSPeriodicity (T_(PRS)) 920. Typically, the cell specific PRS subframeconfiguration is defined by a “PRS Configuration Index” I_(PRS) includedin the assistance data (e.g. for OTDOA). The PRS Periodicity (T_(PRS))920 and the cell specific subframe offset (A_(PRS)) are defined based onthe PRS Configuration Index I_(PRS), in 3GPP TS 36.211 entitled“Physical channels and modulation,” as illustrated in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 PRS configuration PRS periodicity PRS subframe offset IndexI_(PRS) T_(PRS) (subframes) Δ_(PRS) (subframes)  0-159 160 I_(PRS)160-479 320 I_(PRS) − 160   480-1119 640 I_(PRS) − 480  1120-2399 1280I_(PRS) − 1120 2400-2404 5 I_(PRS) − 2400 2405-2414 10 I_(PRS) − 24052415-2434 20 I_(PRS) − 2415 2435-2474 40 I_(PRS) − 2435 2475-2554 80I_(PRS) − 2475 2555-4095 Reserved

A PRS configuration is defined with reference to the System Frame Number(SFN) of a cell that transmits PRS. PRS instances, for the firstsubframe of the N_(PRS) downlink subframes comprising a first PRSpositioning occasion, may satisfy:(10×n _(f) +└n _(s)/2┘−Δ_(PRS))mod T _(PRS)=0  (1)where n_(f) is the SFN with 0≤n_(f)≤1023, n_(s) is the slot numberwithin the radio frame defined by n_(f) with 0≤n_(s)≤19, T_(PRS) is thePRS periodicity, and A_(PRS) is the cell-specific subframe offset.

As shown in FIG. 9, the cell specific subframe offset A_(PRS) 952 may bedefined in terms of the number of subframes transmitted starting fromSystem Frame Number 0 (Slot ‘Number 0’, marked as slot 950) to the startof the first (subsequent) PRS positioning occasion. In FIG. 9, thenumber of consecutive positioning subframes 918 (N_(PRS)) equals 4.

In some embodiments, when a UE 105 receives a PRS configuration indexI_(PRS) in the assistance data for a particular cell, the UE 105 maydetermine the PRS periodicity T_(PRS) and PRS subframe offset A_(PRS)using Table 1. The UE 105 may then determine the radio frame, subframeand slot when a PRS is scheduled in the cell (e.g., using equation (1)).The assistance data may be determined by, for example, the LMF 120 or anE-SMLC and includes assistance data for a reference cell, and a numberof neighbor cells supported by various wireless nodes (e.g. eNBs, gNBs110 or ng-eNBs 114).

Typically, PRS occasions from all cells in a network that use the samefrequency are aligned in time and may have a fixed known time offsetrelative to other cells in the network that use a different frequency.In SFN-synchronous networks all wireless nodes (gNBs 110, ng-eNBs 114,eNBs, etc.) may be aligned on both frame boundary and system framenumber. Therefore, in SFN-synchronous networks all cells supported bythe various wireless nodes may use the same PRS configuration index forany particular frequency of PRS transmission. On the other hand, inSFN-asynchronous networks, the various wireless nodes may be aligned ona frame boundary, but not system frame number. Thus, in SFN-asynchronousnetworks the PRS configuration index for each cell may be configuredseparately by the network so that PRS occasions align in time.

A UE 105 may determine the timing of the PRS occasions (e.g., in an LTEnetwork or a 5G NR network such as that in communication system 100) ofthe reference and neighbor cells for positioning (e.g. using OTDOA, RTTand/or AOD), if the UE 105 can obtain the cell timing (e.g., SFN orFrame Number) of at least one of the cells, e.g., the reference cell ora serving cell (which may be performed at stage 10 of FIG. 2, or stage10 of FIG. 3). The timing of the other cells may then be derived by theUE 105 based, for example, on the assumption that PRS occasions fromdifferent cells overlap.

As defined by 3GPP (e.g., in 3GPP TS 36.211), for LTE systems, thesequence of subframes used to transmit PRS (e.g., for OTDOA, RTT or AODpositioning) may be characterized and defined by a number of parameters,as described previously, comprising: (i) a reserved block of bandwidth(BW); (ii) the configuration index I_(PRS); (iii) the duration N_(PRS);(iv) an optional muting pattern; and (v) a muting sequence periodicityT_(REP) which can be implicitly included as part of the muting patternin (iv) when present. In some cases, with a fairly low PRS duty cycle,N_(PRS)=1, T_(PRS)=160 subframes (equivalent to 160 ms), and BW=1.4, 3,5, 10, 15 or 20 MHz. To increase the PRS duty cycle, the N_(PRS) valuecan be increased to six (i.e., N_(PRS)=6) and the bandwidth (BW) valuecan be increased to the system bandwidth (i.e., BW=LTE system bandwidthin the case of LTE). An expanded PRS with a larger N_(PRS) (e.g.,greater than six) and/or a shorter T_(PRS) (e.g., less than 160 ms), upto the full duty cycle (i.e., N_(PRS)=T_(PRS)), may also be used inlater versions of LPP according to 3GPP TS 36.355.

Increasing the resource allocation for PRS when requested by a UE 105(e.g. as exemplified with respect to FIGS. 1A-7) may be implemented forany cell using one of more of: (i) increasing the PRS bandwidth BW, (ii)increasing the number of subframes N_(PRS) per PRS positioning occasion,(iii) reducing the periodicity T_(PRS) between consecutive positioningoccasions, (iv) increasing the number of separate PRS configurationssupported in the cell, and (v) a transmission of PRS using an uplinkcarrier frequency.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of an example procedure 1000 for supportinglocation of a user equipment (UE) such as the UE 105 in FIGS. 1A-1B. Theprocedure 1000 may be performed by an entity in a wireless network, suchas by: (i) a server, such as LMF 120, shown in FIGS. 1A-1B; or (ii) abase station, such as a gNB 110 or ng-eNB 114, shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, oran eNB; or (iii) an LMC such as LMC 117 shown in FIG. 1B, where theentity may be configured to transmit radio signals, e.g., according toLTE, 5G or NR protocols.

As illustrated, at block 1002, the entity determines an increase intransmission of a positioning reference signal (PRS) at each of aplurality of transmitters, where the increase in transmission of PRS ateach of the plurality of transmitters is coordinated by the entity toavoid interference to or from non-PRS transmission in the wirelessnetwork, e.g., as illustrated at stage 4 in FIG. 2, stage 5 in FIG. 3,or stage 5 in FIG. 7.

At block 1004, the entity sends a first message to the each transmitter,the first message comprising an indication of the increase intransmission of PRS for the each transmitter, e.g., as illustrated atstage 5 in FIG. 2, stage 6 in FIG. 3 or stage 6 in FIG. 7.

At block 1006, the entity receives a response from the each transmitter,the response confirming or rejecting the increase in transmission of PRSat the each transmitter, e.g., as illustrated at stage 6 in FIG. 2,stage 7 in FIG. 3 or stage 7 in FIG. 7.

In one aspect, the entity may be a location server or location serverfunction, e.g., LMF 120 or LMC 117. In this aspect, the entity mayfurther receive location requests (e.g. from one or more AMFs such asAMF 115) for a plurality of one or more UEs, where the determining anincrease in transmission of a PRS at each of the plurality oftransmitters is based on the location requests, and the entity may senda second message to each UE in the plurality of one or more UEs, wherethe second message requests measurements by the each UE of at least onePRS with increased transmission from at least one transmitter, asillustrated in stages 8 and 9 of FIG. 2. The entity may further receivenotification reports from a plurality of base stations (e.g. gNBs suchas gNBs 110), where the notification report from each base station inthe plurality of base stations requests an increase in PRS transmissionfor the each base station, where determining an increase in transmissionof a positioning reference signal (PRS) at each of the plurality oftransmitters is based on the notification report, and where theplurality of base stations comprises or is a subset of the plurality oftransmitters, as illustrated in stage 4 of FIG. 7.

In one aspect, the entity may be a base station, e.g., gNB 110 or ng-eNB114, shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, or an eNB. In this aspect, the entity mayreceive requests for increased PRS from a plurality of one or more UEs,where determining an increase in transmission of a positioning referencesignal (PRS) at each of the plurality of transmitters is based on therequests for increased PRS, and where the plurality of transmitterscomprises or includes the entity, as illustrated in stages 3-5 of FIG.3. The requests, for example, may comprise requests for a random accessprocedure or Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages or both. The entitymay further receive requests for location of a plurality of one or moreUEs (e.g. from some UEs in the plurality and/or from AMFs, LMFs and/orLMCs), where determining an increase in transmission of a positioningreference signal (PRS) at each of the plurality of transmitters is basedon the requests for location, and where the plurality of transmitterscomprises or includes the entity, as illustrated in stages 3 and 5 ofFIG. 3. Additionally, the entity may send a second message to each UE inthe plurality of one or more UEs, where the second message requestsmeasurements by the each UE of at least one PRS with increasedtransmission from at least one transmitter, e.g. as part of a locationprocedure with the each UE such as that for stage 4 in FIG. 3.

In one aspect, the coordination to avoid interference to or from non-PRStransmission in the wireless network comprises determining an area ofincreased PRS transmission, where the increase in transmission of PRS ateach of the plurality of transmitters comprises an increase intransmission of a plurality of directional PRSs at each of the pluralityof transmitters, and where the plurality of directional PRSs comprisePRS beams directed inside the area and exclude PRS beams directedoutside the area, e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 6.

In one aspect, the plurality of transmitters comprises a plurality ofbase stations (e.g. gNBs 110, ng-eNBs 114 and/or eNBs), a plurality ofPRS only beacons, a plurality of remote radio heads, a plurality of TPs111, and/or a plurality of TRPs as described for FIG. 1B, or somecombination of these.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic diagram of a hardware implementation of a basestation 1100, such as a gNB 110, an ng-eNB 114, an eNB, which may besimilar to, and be configured to have a functionality similar to thatdepicted or described, for example, with reference to FIGS. 1A-1B, 2, 3,and 7. The base station 1100 may include one or more communicationmodules 1110 a-n, sometimes referred to as external interfaces,electrically coupled to one more antennas 1116 a-n for communicatingwith wireless devices, such as, for example, the UE 105 of FIGS. 1A-1B.The each of the communication modules 1110 a-810 n may include arespective transmitter 1112 a-n for sending signals (e.g., downlinkmessages and signals, which may be arranged in frames, and which mayinclude positioning reference signals and/or assistance data whosequantity may be controlled/varied as described herein) and, optionally(e.g., for nodes configured to receive and process uplinkcommunications) a respective receiver 1114 a-n. In embodiments in whichthe implemented node includes both a transmitter and a receiver, thecommunication module comprising the transmitter and receiver may bereferred to as a transceiver. The base station 1100 may also include anetwork interface 1120 to communicate with other network nodes (e.g.,sending and receiving queries and responses). For example, each networkelement may be configured to communicate (e.g., via wired or wirelessbackhaul communication) with a gateway, or other suitable device of anetwork, to facilitate communication with one or more core network nodes(e.g., any of the other nodes and elements shown in FIGS. 1A-1B).Additionally, and/or alternatively, communication with other networknodes may also be performed using the communication modules 1110 a-nand/or the respective antennas 1116 a-n.

The base station 1100 may also include other components that may be usedwith embodiments described herein. For example, the base station 1100may include one or more Transmission Points (TPs) 1111 (e.g. eachcorresponding to a TP 111 in FIG. 1B), such as remote radio heads, orbroadcast-only TPs for improved support of DL related position methodssuch as OTDOA, RTT, AOD and/or ECID. The base station 1100 may furtherinclude one or more Reception Points (RPs) 1113 (e.g. each correspondingto an RP 113 in FIG. 1B), such as remote radio heads or internalLocation Measurement Units (LMUs) for UL measurements for positionmethods such as UTDOA, AOA or ECID. In some cases, a TP 1111 and RP 1113may be combined into a single TRP. The base station 1100 may furtherinclude a Location Management Component (LMC) 1117 (e.g. correspondingto an LMC 117 in FIG. 1B) to support positioning of a target UE.

The base station 1100 may include, in some embodiments, at least oneprocessor 1130 (also referred to as a controller) and memory 1140 tomanage communications with other nodes (e.g., sending and receivingmessages), to generate communication signals (including to generatecommunication frames, signals and/or messages with adjustable quantitiesof resources that are allocated for location-related information such asPRS transmissions and assistance data transmissions), and to provideother related functionality, including functionality to implement thevarious processes and methods described herein. The one or moreprocessors 1130 and memory 1140 may be coupled together with bus 1106.The one or more processors 1130 and other components of the base station1100 may similarly be coupled together with bus 1106, a separate bus, ormay be directly connected together or coupled using a combination of theforegoing. The memory 1140 may contain executable code or softwareinstructions that when executed by the one or more processors 1130 causethe one or more processors 1130 to operate as a special purpose computerprogrammed to perform the procedures and techniques disclosed herein(e.g. such as the process flows 1000).

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the memory 1140 includes one or morecomponents or modules that when implemented by the one or moreprocessors 1130 implements the methodologies as described herein. Whilethe components or modules are illustrated as software in memory 1140that is executable by the one or more processors 1130, it should beunderstood that the components or modules may be dedicated hardwareeither in the processor or off processor. As illustrated, the memory1140 may include a PRS controller 1142 that enables the one or moreprocessors 1130 to determine an increase in transmission of PRS at eachof a plurality of transmitters. The PRS controller 1142, for example,coordinates to avoid interference to or from non-PRS transmission in thewireless network. The PRS controller 1142, for example, may enable theone or more processors 1130 to send messages to each transmitter, e.g.,via transceiver 1110, indicating the increase in transmission of PRS forthe each transmitter, and to enable the one or more processors 1130 toreceive, via transceiver 1110, a response from the each transmitterconfirming or rejecting the increase in transmission of PRS at the eachtransmitter. The memory 1140 may include a request receive module 1144that enables the one or more processors 1130 to receive, via transceiver1110, requests for increased PRS or for location from UEs, wherein theincrease in transmission of PRS is based on the received requests. Thememory 1140 may further include a request send module 1145, whichenables the one or more processors 1130 to send, via transceiver 1110,messages to UEs requesting measurements of at least one PRS withincreased transmission from at least one transmitter. The memory 1140may further include an area determination module 1146, which enables theone or more processors 1130 to determine an area of increased PRStransmission to avoid interference to or from non-PRS transmission inthe wireless network. The memory 1140 may also include an applicationmodule 1147 with computer code for various applications required toperform the operations of the base station 1100. For example, the atleast one processor 1130 may be configured (e.g., using code providedvia the application module 1147, or some other module in the memory1140) to control the operation of the antennas 1116 a-n so as toadjustably control the antennas' transmission power and phase, gainpattern, antenna direction (e.g., the direction at which a resultantradiation beam from the antennas 1116 a-n propagates), antennadiversity, and other adjustable antenna parameters for the antennas 1116a-n of the base station 1100. In some embodiments, the antennas'configuration may be controlled according to pre-stored configurationdata provided at the time of manufacture or deployment of the basestation 1100, or according to data obtained from a remote device (suchas a central server sending data representative of the antennaconfiguration, and other operational parameters, that are to be used forthe base station 1100). The base station 1100 may also be configured, insome implementations, to perform location data services, or performsother types of services, for multiple wireless devices (clients)communicating with the base station 1100 (or communicating with a servercoupled to the base station 1100), and to provide location data and/orassistance data to such multiple wireless devices.

The methodologies described herein may be implemented by various meansdepending upon the application. For example, these methodologies may beimplemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof.For a hardware implementation, the one or more processors may beimplemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processingdevices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers,microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed toperform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

For an implementation involving firmware and/or software, themethodologies may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures,functions, and so on) that perform the separate functions describedherein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions maybe used in implementing the methodologies described herein. For example,software codes may be stored in a memory and executed by one or moreprocessor units, causing the processor units to operate as a specialpurpose computer programmed to perform the algorithms disclosed herein.Memory may be implemented within the processor unit or external to theprocessor unit. As used herein the term “memory” refers to any type oflong term, short term, volatile, nonvolatile, or other memory and is notto be limited to any particular type of memory or number of memories, ortype of media upon which memory is stored.

If implemented in firmware and/or software, the functions may be storedas one or more instructions or code on a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium. Examples include computer-readablemedia encoded with a data structure and computer-readable media encodedwith a computer program. Computer-readable media includes physicalcomputer storage media. A storage medium may be any available mediumthat can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage,semiconductor storage, or other storage devices, or any other mediumthat can be used to store desired program code in the form ofinstructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer;disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray discwhere disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproducedata optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media.

In addition to storage on computer-readable storage medium, instructionsand/or data may be provided as signals on transmission media included ina communication apparatus. For example, a communication apparatus mayinclude a transceiver having signals indicative of instructions anddata. The instructions and data are stored on non-transitory computerreadable media, e.g., memory 1140, and are configured to cause the oneor more processors to operate as a special purpose computer programmedto perform the procedures and techniques disclosed herein. That is, thecommunication apparatus includes transmission media with signalsindicative of information to perform disclosed functions. At a firsttime, the transmission media included in the communication apparatus mayinclude a first portion of the information to perform the disclosedfunctions, while at a second time the transmission media included in thecommunication apparatus may include a second portion of the informationto perform the disclosed functions.

FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of a hardware implementation of aserver 1200, such as a LMF 120 or LMC 117, which may be similar to, andbe configured to have a functionality similar to that depicted ordescribed, for example, with reference to FIGS. 1A-1B, 2, 3, and 7. Theserver 1200 may include a network interface 1220 a network interface1220 to communicate with other network nodes (e.g., sending andreceiving queries and responses), e.g., to base stations and the UE. Forexample, each network element may be configured to communicate (e.g.,via wired or wireless backhaul communication) with a gateway, or othersuitable device of a network, to facilitate communication with one ormore core network nodes (e.g., any of the other nodes and elements shownin FIGS. 1A-1B).

The server 1200 may include, in some embodiments, at least one processor1230 (also referred to as a controller) and memory 1240 to managecommunications with other nodes (e.g., sending and receiving messages),to generate communication signals (including to generate communicationframes, signals and/or messages with adjustable quantities of resourcesthat are allocated for location-related information such as PRStransmissions and assistance data transmissions), and to provide otherrelated functionality, including functionality to implement the variousprocesses and methods described herein. The one or more processors 1230and memory 1240 may be coupled together with bus 1206. The one or moreprocessors 1230 and other components of the server 1200 may similarly becoupled together with bus 1206, a separate bus, or may be directlyconnected together or coupled using a combination of the foregoing. Thememory 1240 may contain executable code or software instructions thatwhen executed by the one or more processors 1230 cause the one or moreprocessors 1230 to operate as a special purpose computer programmed toperform the procedures and techniques disclosed herein (e.g. such as theprocess flows 1000).

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the memory 1240 includes one or morecomponents or modules that when implemented by the one or moreprocessors 1230 implements the methodologies as described herein. Whilethe components or modules are illustrated as software in memory 1240that is executable by the one or more processors 1230, it should beunderstood that the components or modules may be dedicated hardwareeither in the processor or off processor. As illustrated, the memory1240 may include a PRS controller 1242 that enables the one or moreprocessors 1230 to determine an increase in transmission of PRS at eachof a plurality of transmitters. The PRS controller 1242, for example,coordinates to avoid interference to or from non-PRS transmission in thewireless network. The PRS controller 1242, for example, may enable theone or more processors 1230 to send messages to each transmitter, e.g.,via network interface 1220, indicating the increase in transmission ofPRS for the each transmitter, and to enable the one or more processors1230 to receive, via network interface 1220, a response from the eachtransmitter confirming or rejecting the increase in transmission of PRSat the each transmitter. The memory 1240 may include a request receivemodule 1244 that enables the one or more processors 1230 to receive, vianetwork interface 1220, requests for increased PRS from UEs or requestsin a notification report from base stations, wherein the increase intransmission of PRS is based on the received requests. The memory 1240may further include a request send module 1245, which enables the one ormore processors 1230 to send, via network interface 1220, messages toUEs requesting measurements of at least one PRS with increasedtransmission from at least one transmitter. The memory 1240 may furtherinclude an area determination module 1246, which enables the one or moreprocessors 1230 to determine an area of increased PRS transmission toavoid interference to or from non-PRS transmission in the wirelessnetwork.

The methodologies described herein may be implemented by various meansdepending upon the application. For example, these methodologies may beimplemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof.For a hardware implementation, the one or more processors may beimplemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processingdevices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers,microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed toperform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

For an implementation involving firmware and/or software, themethodologies may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures,functions, and so on) that perform the separate functions describedherein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions maybe used in implementing the methodologies described herein. For example,software codes may be stored in a memory and executed by one or moreprocessor units, causing the processor units to operate as a specialpurpose computer programmed to perform the algorithms disclosed herein.Memory may be implemented within the processor unit or external to theprocessor unit. As used herein the term “memory” refers to any type oflong term, short term, volatile, nonvolatile, or other memory and is notto be limited to any particular type of memory or number of memories, ortype of media upon which memory is stored.

If implemented in firmware and/or software, the functions may be storedas one or more instructions or code on a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium. Examples include computer-readablemedia encoded with a data structure and computer-readable media encodedwith a computer program. Computer-readable media includes physicalcomputer storage media. A storage medium may be any available mediumthat can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage,semiconductor storage, or other storage devices, or any other mediumthat can be used to store desired program code in the form ofinstructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer;disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray discwhere disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproducedata optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media.

In addition to storage on computer-readable storage medium, instructionsand/or data may be provided as signals on transmission media included ina communication apparatus. For example, a communication apparatus mayinclude a transceiver having signals indicative of instructions anddata. The instructions and data are stored on non-transitory computerreadable media, e.g., memory 1240, and are configured to cause the oneor more processors to operate as a special purpose computer programmedto perform the procedures and techniques disclosed herein. That is, thecommunication apparatus includes transmission media with signalsindicative of information to perform disclosed functions. At a firsttime, the transmission media included in the communication apparatus mayinclude a first portion of the information to perform the disclosedfunctions, while at a second time the transmission media included in thecommunication apparatus may include a second portion of the informationto perform the disclosed functions.

Thus, an entity in a wireless network, such as the base station 1100 orserver 1200 may be configured for supporting location of a userequipment (UE) and may include a means for determining an increase intransmission of a positioning reference signal (PRS) at each of aplurality of transmitters, wherein the increase in transmission of PRSat each of the plurality of transmitters is coordinated to avoidinterference to or from non-PRS transmission in the wireless network,which may be, e.g., one or more of the communication modules 1110 a-n,and one or more processors 1130 with dedicated hardware or implementingexecutable code or software instructions in memory 1140 such as the PRScontroller 1142, or the network interface 1220 and one or moreprocessors 1230 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable codeor software instructions in memory 1240 such as the PRS controller 1242.A means for sending a first message to the each transmitter, the firstmessage comprising an indication of the increase in transmission of PRSfor the each transmitter may be, e.g., the one or more of thecommunication modules 1110 a-n and one or more processors 1130 withdedicated hardware or implementing executable code or softwareinstructions in memory 1140 such as the PRS controller 1142, or thenetwork interface 1220 and one or more processors 1230 with dedicatedhardware or implementing executable code or software instructions inmemory 1240 such as the PRS controller 1242. A means for receiving aresponse from the each transmitter, the response confirming or rejectingthe increase in transmission of PRS at the each transmitter, may be,e.g., the one or more of the communication modules 1110 a-n and one ormore processors 1130 with dedicated hardware or implementing executablecode or software instructions in memory 1140 such as the PRS controller1142, or the network interface 1220 and one or more processors 1230 withdedicated hardware or implementing executable code or softwareinstructions in memory 1240 such as the PRS controller 1242.

In one implementation, the entity may include a means for receivinglocation requests for a plurality of one or more UEs, wherein thedetermining an increase in transmission of a PRS at each of theplurality of transmitters is based on the location requests, which maybe, e.g., the one or more of the communication modules 1110 a-n and oneor more processors 1130 with dedicated hardware or implementingexecutable code or software instructions in memory 1140 such as therequest receive module 1144. A means for sending a second message toeach UE in the plurality of one or more UEs, the second messagerequesting measurements by the each UE of at least one PRS withincreased transmission from at least one transmitter may be, e.g., theone or more of the communication modules 1110 a-n and one or moreprocessors 1130 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable codeor software instructions in memory 1140 such as the request send module1145.

In one implementation, the entity may include a means for receivingnotification reports from a plurality of base stations, the notificationreport from each base station in the plurality of base stationrequesting an increase in PRS transmission for the each base station,wherein determining an increase in transmission of a positioningreference signal (PRS) at each of the plurality of transmitters is basedon the notification report, wherein the plurality of base stationscomprise or are a subset of the plurality of transmitters, which may be,e.g., the one or more of the communication modules 1110 a-n and one ormore processors 1130 with dedicated hardware or implementing executablecode or software instructions in memory 1140 such as the request receivemodule 1144.

In one implementation, the entity may include a means for receivingrequests for increased PRS from a plurality of one or more UEs, whereindetermining an increase in transmission of a positioning referencesignal (PRS) at each of the plurality of transmitters is based on therequests for increased PRS, wherein the plurality of TPs comprises orincludes the base station, which may be, e.g., the network interface1220 and one or more processors 1230 with dedicated hardware orimplementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1240such as the request receive module 1244.

In one implementation, the entity may include a means for receivingrequests for location of a plurality of one or more UEs, whereindetermining an increase in transmission of a positioning referencesignal (PRS) at each of the plurality of transmitters is based on therequests for location, wherein the plurality of TPs comprises orincludes the base station which may be, e.g., the network interface 1220and one or more processors 1230 with dedicated hardware or implementingexecutable code or software instructions in memory 1240 such as therequest receive module 1244. The entity may further include a means forsending a second message to each UE in the plurality of one or more UEs,the second message requesting measurements by the each UE of at leastone PRS with increased transmission from at least one TP, which may be,e.g., the network interface 1220 and one or more processors 1230 withdedicated hardware or implementing executable code or softwareinstructions in memory 1240 such as the request send module 1245.

In one implementation, the coordination to avoid interference to or fromnon-PRS transmission in the wireless network may be a means fordetermining an area of increased PRS transmission, wherein the increasein transmission of PRS at each of the plurality of transmitterscomprises an increase in transmission of a plurality of directional PRSsat each of the plurality of TPs, wherein the plurality of directionalPRSs comprise PRS beams directed inside the area and exclude PRS beamsdirected outside the area, which may be, e.g., the one or moreprocessors 1130 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable codeor software instructions in memory 1140 such as the area determinationmodule 1146, or the one or more processors 1230 with dedicated hardwareor implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1240such as the area determination module 1246.

FIG. 13 shows a user equipment (UE) 1300 for which various proceduresand techniques described herein can be utilized. The UE 1300 may besimilar or identical, in implementation and/or functionality, to any ofthe other UEs described herein, including the UE 105 depicted in FIGS.1A-1B, 2, 3, and 7. Furthermore, the implementation illustrated in FIG.13 may also be used to implement, at least in part, some of the nodesand devices illustrated throughout the present disclosure, includingsuch nodes and devices and the base stations (e.g. gNBs 110, ng-eNB 114,etc.), location servers, and other components and devices illustrated inFIGS. 1A-1B, 2, 3, and 7.

The UE 1300 includes a processor 1311 (or processor core) and memory1340. As described herein, the UE 1300 is configured to, for examplerequest an increased quantity of location-related information to beprovided (e.g., broadcast) by a serving wireless node, and/or by otherwireless nodes (as may be determined by the UE 1300 or by the wirelessnode to which it sends the request). The UE 1300 is further configuredto receive and utilize (e.g., for positioning functionality) therequested increased quantity of location-related information. The UE1300 may optionally include a trusted environment operably connected tothe memory 1340 by a public bus 1301 or a private bus (not shown). TheUE 1300 may also include a communication interface 1320 and a wirelesstransceiver 1321 configured to send and receive wireless signals 1323(which may include LTE, NR, 5G or WiFi wireless signals) via a wirelessantenna 1322 over a wireless network (such as the communication system100 of FIG. 1A). The wireless transceiver 1321 is connected to the bus1301 via the communication interface 1320. Here, the UE 1300 isillustrated as having a single wireless transceiver 1321. However, theUE 1300 can alternatively have multiple wireless transceivers 1321and/or multiple wireless antennas 1322 to support multiple communicationstandards such as WiFi, CDMA, Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution(LTE), 5G, NR, Bluetooth® short-range wireless communication technology,etc.

The communication interface 1320 and/or wireless transceiver 1321 maysupport operations on multiple carriers (waveform signals of differentfrequencies). Multi-carrier transmitters can transmit modulated signalssimultaneously on the multiple carriers. Each modulated signal may be aCode Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, a Time Division MultipleAccess (TDMA) signal, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access(OFDMA) signal, a Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access(SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal may be sent on a differentcarrier and may carry pilot, control information, overhead information,data, etc.

The UE 1300 may also include a user interface 1350 (e.g., display,graphical user interface (GUI), touchscreen, keyboard, microphone,speaker), and a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) receiver 1355 thatreceives SPS signals 1359 (e.g., from SPS satellites) via an SPS antenna1358 (which may be the same antenna as wireless antenna 1322, or may bedifferent). The SPS receiver 1355 can communicate with a single globalnavigation satellite system (GNSS) or multiple such systems. A GNSS caninclude, but is not limited to, Global Positioning System (GPS),Galileo, Glonass, Beidou (Compass), etc. SPS satellites are alsoreferred to as satellites, space vehicles (SVs), etc. The SPS receiver1355 measures the SPS signals 1359 and may use the measurements of theSPS signals 1359 to determine the location of the UE 1300. The processor1311, memory 1340, Digital Signal Processor (DSP) 1312 and/orspecialized processor(s) (not shown) may also be utilized to process theSPS signals 1359, in whole or in part, and/or to compute (approximatelyor more precisely) the location of the UE 1300, in conjunction with SPSreceiver 1355. Alternatively, the UE 1300 may support transfer of theSPS measurements to a location server (e.g., E-SMLC, an LMF, such as theLMF 120 of FIG. 1A, etc.) that computes the UE location instead. Storageof information from the SPS signals 1359 or other location signals isperformed using a memory 1340 or registers (not shown). While only oneprocessor 1311, one DSP 1312 and one memory 1340 are shown in FIG. 13,more than one of any, a pair, or all of these components could be usedby the UE 1300. The processor 1311 and the DSP 1312 associated with theUE 1300 are connected to the bus 1301.

The memory 1340 can include a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium (or media) that stores functions as one or more instructions orcode. Media that can make up the memory 1340 include, but are notlimited to, RAM, ROM, FLASH, disc drives, etc. In general, the functionsstored by the memory 1340 are executed by general-purpose processor(s),such as the processor 1311, specialized processors, such as the DSP1312, etc. Thus, the memory 1340 is a processor-readable memory and/or acomputer-readable memory that stores software (programming code,instructions, etc.) configured to cause the processor(s) 1311 and/orDSP(s) 1312 to perform the functions described (e.g. the functionsdescribed previously for the example procedure 700 of FIG. 7).Alternatively, one or more functions of the UE 1300 may be performed inwhole or in part in hardware.

A UE 1300 can estimate its current position within an associated systemusing various techniques, based on other communication entities withinradio range and/or information available to the UE 1300. For instance,the UE 1300 can estimate its position using information obtained from:base stations and access points (APs) associated with one or morewireless wide area networks (WWANs), wireless local area networks(WLANs), personal area networks (PANs) utilizing a short-range wirelesscommunication technology such as Bluetooth® wireless technology orZIGBEE®, etc.; Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) or otherSatellite Positioning System (SPS) satellites; and/or map data obtainedfrom a map server or other server (e.g., an LMF, an E-SMLC or SLP). Insome cases, a location server, which may be an E-SMLC, SLP, StandaloneServing Mobile Location Center (SAS), an LMF, etc., may provideassistance data to the UE 1300 to allow or assist the UE 1300 to acquiresignals (e.g., signals from WWAN base stations, signals from WLAN APs,signals from cellular base stations, GNSS satellites, etc.) and makelocation-related measurements using these signals. The UE 1300 may thenprovide the measurements to the location server to compute a locationestimate (which may be known as “UE assisted” positioning) or maycompute a location estimate itself (which may be known as “UE based”positioning) based on the measurements and possibly based also on otherassistance data provided by the location server (e.g. such as orbitaland timing data for GNSS satellites, configuration parameters for thePRS signals, the precise location coordinates of WLAN APs and/orcellular base stations, etc.)

In some embodiments, the UE 1300 may include a camera 1330 (e.g., frontand/or back facing) such as, for example, complementarymetal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors with appropriate lensconfigurations. Other imaging technologies such as charge-coupleddevices (CCD) and back side illuminated CMOS may be used. The camera1330 may be configured to obtain and provide image information to assistin positioning of the UE 1300. In an example, one or more external imageprocessing servers (e.g., remote servers) may be used to perform imagerecognition and provide location estimation processes. The UE 1300 mayinclude other sensors 1335 which may also be used to compute, or used toassist in computing, a location for the UE 1300. The sensors 1335 mayinclude inertial sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes,magnetometers, a compass, any of which may be implemented based onmicro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS), or based on some othertechnology), as well as a barometer, thermometer, hygrometer and othersensors.

As noted, in some embodiments the UE may be configured to request andreceive (e.g., via the wireless transceiver 1321), communication signals(e.g. broadcast subframes) that are controlled/configured to increasethe quantity of location-related information. For example, the increasedquantity of location-related information may be achieved by increasing(at the wireless nodes communicating with the UE) the bandwidth of PRS,increasing the frequency and/or duration of PRS positioning occasions,increasing the quantity of assistance data, increasing the frequency oftransmitting assistance data, transmitting PRS using an uplink carrierfrequency, etc.

Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specific desires.For example, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

Configurations may be described as a process which is depicted as a flowdiagram or block diagram. Although each may describe the operations as asequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallelor concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may berearranged. A process may have additional steps not included in thefigure. Furthermore, examples of the methods may be implemented byhardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription languages, or any combination thereof. When implemented insoftware, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the program code or codesegments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage medium.Processors may perform the described tasks.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly or conventionally understood. As usedherein, the articles “a” and “an” refer to one or to more than one(i.e., to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By wayof example, “an element” means one element or more than one element.“About” and/or “approximately” as used herein when referring to ameasurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, and the like,encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specifiedvalue, as such variations are appropriate in the context of the systems,devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein.“Substantially” as used herein when referring to a measurable value suchas an amount, a temporal duration, a physical attribute (such asfrequency), and the like, also encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%,±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as such variations areappropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods,and other implementations described herein.

As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of itemsprefaced by “at least one of” or “one or more of” indicates adisjunctive list such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A,B, or C” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B andC), or combinations with more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC,etc.). Also, as used herein, unless otherwise stated, a statement that afunction or operation is “based on” an item or condition means that thefunction or operation is based on the stated item or condition and maybe based on one or more items and/or conditions in addition to thestated item or condition.

As used herein, a mobile device, user equipment (UE), or mobile station(MS) refers to a device such as a cellular or other wirelesscommunication device, a smartphone, tablet, personal communicationsystem (PCS) device, personal navigation device (PND), PersonalInformation Manager (PIM), Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), laptop orother suitable mobile device which is capable of receiving wirelesscommunication and/or navigation signals, such as navigation positioningsignals. The term “mobile station” (or “mobile device”. “wirelessdevice” or “user equipment”) is also intended to include devices whichcommunicate with a personal navigation device (PND), such as byshort-range wireless, infrared, wireline connection, or otherconnection—regardless of whether satellite signal reception, assistancedata reception, and/or position-related processing occurs at the deviceor at the PND. Also, a “mobile station” or “user equipment” is intendedto include all devices, including wireless communication devices,computers, laptops, tablet devices, etc., which are capable ofcommunication with a server, such as via the Internet, WiFi, or othernetwork, and to communicate with one or more types of nodes, regardlessof whether satellite signal reception, assistance data reception, and/orposition-related processing occurs at the device, at a server, or atanother device or node associated with the network. Any operablecombination of the above are also considered a “mobile station” or “userequipment.” A mobile device or user equipment (UE) may also be referredto as a mobile terminal, a terminal, a device, a Secure User PlaneLocation Enabled Terminal (SET), a target device, a target, or by someother name.

In an embodiment, a first example independent claim may include a methodfor supporting location of a user equipment (UE) at a first wirelessnode, comprising receiving a first request for broadcast of an increasedquantity of location-related information, the broadcast based on awireless access type for the first wireless node; and broadcasting theincreased quantity of location-related information using the wirelessaccess type and based on the first request.

Example dependent claims may include one or more of the followingfeatures. The wireless access type is Fifth Generation (5G), New Radio(NR) or Long Term Evolution (LTE). The location-related informationcomprises a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS). The increased quantityof location-related information comprises an increased PRS bandwidth, anincreased frequency of PRS positioning occasions, an increased durationfor a PRS positioning occasion, an increased number of separate PRSsignals, a transmission of PRS using an uplink carrier frequency, orsome combination thereof. The method may further include sending asecond request for a muting of transmission to a second wireless nodefor the wireless access type, wherein the muting of transmission isbased on avoiding radio interference with the broadcast of the increasedquantity of location-related information by the first wireless node. Thelocation-related information may comprise location assistance data. Thelocation assistance data may comprise assistance data for Observed TimeDifference Of Arrival (OTDOA), assistance data for Assisted GlobalNavigation Satellite System (A-GNSS), assistance data for Real TimeKinematics (RTK), assistance data for Precise Point Positioning (PPP),assistance data for Differential GNSS (DGNSS), or any combinationthereof. The increased quantity of location-related information maycomprise an increased quantity of location assistance data, additionaltypes of location assistance data, an increased frequency ofbroadcasting location assistance data, an increased repetition of thebroadcasting of the location assistance data, or any combinationthereof. The first request may be received from a third wireless node.The first request may be received from the UE. The first request may bereceived using a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol for the wirelessaccess type. The first wireless node may be a serving wireless node forthe UE based on the wireless access type. The method may further includesending a third request for the broadcast of an increased quantity oflocation-related information to a fourth wireless node for the wirelessaccess type, wherein the third request is based on the first request.The method may further include sending a response to the UE, wherein theresponse comprises a confirmation of the broadcasting of the increasedquantity of location-related information by the first wireless node. Themethod may further include receiving a fourth request from the UE for atermination of the broadcast of the increased quantity oflocation-related information, and terminating the broadcasting of theincreased quantity of location-related information using the wirelessaccess type based on the fourth request.

While some of the techniques, processes, and/or implementationspresented herein may comply with all or part of one or more standards,such techniques, processes, and/or implementations may not, in someembodiments, comply with part or all of such one or more standards.

Although particular embodiments have been disclosed herein in detail,this has been done by way of example for purposes of illustration only,and is not intended to be limiting with respect to the scope of theappended claims, which follow. In particular, it is contemplated thatvarious substitutions, alterations, and modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedby the claims. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications areconsidered to be within the scope of the following claims. The claimspresented are representative of the embodiments and features disclosedherein. Other unclaimed embodiments and features are also contemplated.Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for supporting location of a userequipment (UE) at a first entity in a wireless network, comprising:determining an increase in transmission of a positioning referencesignal (PRS) at each of a plurality of transmitters, wherein theincrease in transmission of PRS at each of the plurality of transmittersis coordinated with respect to non-PRS transmission in the wirelessnetwork; sending a first message to the each transmitter, the firstmessage comprising an indication of the increase in transmission of PRSfor the each transmitter; and receiving a response from the eachtransmitter, the response confirming or rejecting the increase intransmission of PRS at the each transmitter; wherein coordination of theincrease in transmission of PRS at each of the plurality of transmitterswith respect to non-PRS transmission in the wireless network comprisesdetermining an area of increased PRS transmission, wherein the increasein transmission of the PRS at each of the plurality of transmitterscomprises an increase in transmission by each transmitter of PRS insidethe area and excludes an increase in transmission by each transmitter ofPRS having a direction directed outside the area.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the first entity is a Location Management Function (LMF) or aLocation Management Component (LMC).
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: receiving location requests for one or more UEs, wherein thedetermining the increase in transmission of the PRS at each of theplurality of transmitters is based on the location requests; and sendinga second message to each UE in the one or more UEs, the second messagerequesting measurements by the each UE of at least one PRS withincreased transmission from at least one transmitter.
 4. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: receiving notification reports from aplurality of base stations, the notification report from each basestation in the plurality of base stations requesting an increase in PRStransmission for the each base station, wherein determining the increasein transmission of the PRS at each of the transmitters is based on thenotification reports, wherein the plurality of base stations comprise orare a subset of the plurality of transmitters.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the first entity is a base station.
 6. The method of claim 5,further comprising: receiving requests for increased PRS from one ormore UEs, wherein determining the increase in transmission of the PRS ateach of the plurality of transmitters is based on the requests forincreased PRS, wherein the plurality of transmitters comprises orincludes the base station.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein therequests comprise requests for a random access procedure or RadioResource Control (RRC) messages or both.
 8. The method of claim 5,further comprising: receiving requests for location of one or more UEs,wherein determining the increase in transmission of the PRS at each ofthe plurality of transmitters is based on the requests for location,wherein the plurality of transmitters comprises or includes the basestation.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising sending a secondmessage to each UE in the one or more UEs, the second message requestingmeasurements by the each UE of at least one PRS with increasedtransmission from at least one transmitter.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the coordination of the increase in transmission of PRS at eachof the plurality of transmitters with respect to non-PRS transmission inthe wireless network is to avoid interference to or from non-PRStransmission in the wireless network, wherein the increase intransmission of the PRS at each of the plurality of transmitterscomprises an increase in transmission of a plurality of directional PRSsat each of the plurality of transmitters, wherein the plurality ofdirectional PRSs comprise PRS beams directed inside the area and excludePRS beams directed outside the area.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereinthe plurality of transmitters comprises a plurality of base stations, aplurality of PRS only beacons, a plurality of remote radio heads, aplurality of Transmission Points (TPs), a plurality of TransmissionReception Points (TRPs), or some combination of these.
 12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the increase in transmission of PRS at each of theplurality of transmitters is coordinated to avoid interference to orfrom non-PRS transmission in the wireless network.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the increase in transmission of PRS at each of theplurality of transmitters is coordinated during the increase intransmission of PRS to avoid interference to or from non-PRStransmission in the wireless network.
 14. An entity in a wirelessnetwork configured for supporting location of a user equipment (UE)comprising: an external interface configured to receive and sendmessages to other entities in the wireless network; at least one memory;and at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the atleast one memory, the at least one processor configured to: determine anincrease in transmission of a positioning reference signal (PRS) at eachof a plurality of transmitters, wherein the increase in transmission ofPRS at each of the plurality of transmitters is coordinated with respectto non-PRS transmission in the wireless network; send, via the externalinterface, a first message to the each transmitter, the first messagecomprising an indication of the increase in transmission of PRS for theeach transmitter; and receive, via the external interface, a responsefrom the each transmitter, the response confirming or rejecting theincrease in transmission of PRS at the each transmitter; wherein the atleast one processor is configured to coordinate the increase intransmission of PRS at each of the plurality of transmitters withrespect to non-PRS transmission in the wireless network by beingconfigured to determine an area of increased PRS transmission and theincrease in transmission of the PRS at each of the plurality oftransmitters comprises an increase in transmission by each transmitterof PRS inside the area and excludes an increase in transmission by eachtransmitter of PRS having a direction directed outside the area.
 15. Theentity of claim 14, wherein the entity is a Location Management Function(LMF) or a Location Management Component (LMC).
 16. The entity of claim15, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:receive, via the external interface, location requests for one or moreUEs, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine theincrease in transmission of the PRS at each of the plurality oftransmitters based on the location requests; and send, via the externalinterface, a second message to each UE in the one or more UEs, thesecond message requesting measurements by the each UE of at least onePRS with increased transmission from at least one transmitter.
 17. Theentity of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to: receive notification reports from a plurality of basestations, the notification report from each base station in theplurality of base stations requesting an increase in PRS transmissionfor the each base station, wherein the at least one processor isconfigured to determine the increase in transmission of the PRS at eachof the plurality of transmitters based on the notification reports,wherein the plurality of base stations comprise or are a subset of theplurality of transmitters.
 18. The entity of claim 14, wherein theentity is a base station.
 19. The entity of claim 18, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to: receive, via the externalinterface, requests for increased PRS from one or more UEs, wherein theat least one processor is configured to determine the increase intransmission of the PRS at each of the plurality of transmitters basedon the requests for increased PRS, wherein the plurality of transmitterscomprises or includes the base station.
 20. The entity of claim 19,wherein the requests comprise requests for a random access procedure orRadio Resource Control (RRC) messages or both.
 21. The entity of claim18, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:receive, via the external interface, requests for location of one ormore UEs, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determinethe increase in transmission of the PRS at each of the plurality oftransmitters based on the requests for location, wherein the pluralityof transmitters comprises or includes the base station.
 22. The entityof claim 21, wherein the at least one processor is further configured tosend, via the external interface, a second message to each UE in the oneor more UEs, the second message requesting measurements by the each UEof at least one PRS with increased transmission from at least onetransmitter.
 23. The entity of claim 14, wherein the at least oneprocessor is configured to coordinate the increase in transmission ofPRS at each of the plurality of transmitters with respect to non-PRStransmission in the wireless network to avoid interference to or fromnon-PRS transmission in the wireless network, wherein the increase intransmission of the PRS at each of the plurality of transmitterscomprises an increase in transmission of a plurality of directional PRSsat each of the plurality of transmitters, wherein the plurality ofdirectional PRSs comprise PRS beams directed inside the area and excludePRS beams directed outside the area.
 24. The entity of claim 14, whereinthe plurality of transmitters comprises a plurality of base stations, aplurality of PRS only beacons, a plurality of remote radio heads, aplurality of Transmission Points (TPs), a plurality of TransmissionReception Points (TRPs), or some combination of these.
 25. An entity ina wireless network configured for supporting location of a userequipment (UE) comprising: means for determining an increase intransmission of a positioning reference signal (PRS) at each of aplurality of transmitters, wherein the increase in transmission of PRSat each of the plurality of transmitters is coordinated with respect tonon-PRS transmission in the wireless network; means for sending a firstmessage to the each transmitter, the first message comprising anindication of the increase in transmission of PRS for the eachtransmitter; and means for receiving a response from the eachtransmitter, the response confirming or rejecting the increase intransmission of PRS at the each transmitter; wherein coordination of theincrease in transmission of PRS at each of the plurality of transmitterswith respect to non-PRS transmission in the wireless network comprisesmeans for determining an area of increased PRS transmission, wherein theincrease in transmission of the PRS at each of the plurality oftransmitters comprises an increase in transmission by each transmitterof PRS inside the area and excludes an increase in transmission by eachtransmitter of PRS having a direction directed outside the area.
 26. Theentity of claim 25, further comprising: means for receiving locationrequests for one or more UEs, wherein the determining the increase intransmission of the PRS at each of the plurality of transmitters isbased on the location requests; and means for sending a second messageto each UE in the one or more UEs, the second message requestingmeasurements by the each UE of at least one PRS with increasedtransmission from at least one transmitter.
 27. The entity of claim 25,further comprising: means for receiving notification reports from aplurality of base stations, the notification report from each basestation in the plurality of base stations requesting an increase in PRStransmission for the each base station, wherein determining the increasein transmission of the PRS at each of the plurality of transmitters isbased on the notification reports, wherein the plurality of basestations comprise or are a subset of the plurality of transmitters. 28.The entity of claim 25, further comprising: means for receiving requestsfor increased PRS from one or more UEs, wherein determining the increasein transmission of the PRS at each of the plurality of transmitters isbased on the requests for increased PRS, wherein the plurality oftransmitters comprises or includes the base station.
 29. Anon-transitory computer readable medium including program code storedthereon, the program code is operable to configure at least oneprocessor in a first entity in a wireless network for supportinglocation of a user equipment (UE), comprising: program code to determinean increase in transmission of a positioning reference signal (PRS) ateach of a plurality of transmission points (transmitters), wherein theincrease in transmission of PRS at each of the plurality of transmittersis coordinated with respect to non-PRS transmission in the wirelessnetwork; program code to send a first message to the each transmitter,the first message comprising an indication of the increase intransmission of PRS for the each transmitter; and program code toreceive a response from the each transmitter, the response confirming orrejecting the increase in transmission of PRS at the each transmitter;wherein program code to coordinate the increase in transmission of PRSat each of the plurality of transmitters with respect to non-PRStransmission in the wireless network comprises program code to determinean area of increased PRS transmission and the increase in transmissionof the PRS at each of the plurality of transmitters comprises anincrease in transmission by each transmitter of PRS inside the area andexcludes an increase in transmission by each transmitter of PRS having adirection directed outside the area.
 30. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 29, further comprising: program code to receivelocation requests for one or more UEs, wherein the determining theincrease in transmission of the PRS at each of the plurality oftransmitters is based on the location requests; and program code to senda second message to each UE in the one or more UEs, the second messagerequesting measurements by the each UE of at least one PRS withincreased transmission from at least one transmitter.
 31. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 29, further comprising:program code to receive notification reports from a plurality of basestations, the notification report from each base station in theplurality of base stations requesting an increase in PRS transmissionfor the each base station, wherein the program code to determine theincrease in transmission of the PRS at each of the transmitters is basedon the notification reports, wherein the plurality of base stationscomprise or are a subset of the plurality of transmitters.
 32. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 29, further comprising:program code to receive requests for increased PRS from one or more UEs,wherein determining the increase in transmission of the PRS at each ofthe plurality of transmitters is based on the requests for increasedPRS, wherein the plurality of transmitters comprises or includes thebase station.